The year is 41,000 standard terran years.
The galaxy is filled with horrors eldritch and abhorrent no mortal man can face,in this universe of horrors there is only war .

This novel has the goal of  creating short stories inspired by the 40k universe ip from games workshop due to the nature of the universe

Story 1-Guardsman Life

Theory of Orthogonal Worlds  

Abstract 

Since the beginning of the Enlightenment Era brought about by His Majesty, Kaizer Prometheus Fulmen-Caelesti I. We have understood that other worlds have existed. However, there is yet to be a formalized mathematical theory for this phenomenon. With our ever-increasing knowledge, we are tasked to decipher the secrets of our universe (Alpha-Prime) and other universes as well. The goal of this paper is to standardize the collection of knowledge we have about the subject and organize them to fit into the Alpha-Prime Standard Model. The proponents used the E-8 lattice and simplex Integers as the mathematical framework in order to explain our theory.  

I Introduction. 

Even though we share the same muscular and skeletal structure and nervous system with the dominant species of Alpha-Cordus also called Homo Sapiens our species' overall constitutions are different  (Fulmen-Caelesti XI et al, 3111). 

This may be because the possible particles of Alpha-Prime Standard Model is different from Alpha-Cordus, however, it also could be the effect of a different chirality bias of their universe (Lee & Yang, 1957 |Alpha-Cordus|).  There has not been any related literature concrete enough to conclude on why our universe has a different subset of particles. Regardless of what it is we have deemed our own species as Homo Medeis due to our ability to directly interact with magouns. (Doxinger et al, 3201). 

It is evident that even though our perception of time is roughly same with the Homo Sapiens of Alpha-Cordus, it can be said that our bodies are more resilient, mature faster and experience self-consciousness at a much earlier age. This effect is much more pronounced especially within the royal family and the literature suggests a positive correlation between maguon control capacity and somatic and cognitive development.  The correlation between maguon manipulation capacity and rapid  somatic and cognitive development has a 0.833 and .918 level. (Fulmen-Caelesti XII, 3232).   

A running theory in Alpha-Cordus is that there are "Many Worlds" with each wave function that falls into either probabilistic state splits the fabric of reality (Everet. 1957 |Alpha Cordus|). However, there are holes in this theory, it assumes that only "Parallel Worlds" can exist. If the starting foundational particles in our own reality were different then this term would lack a thorough interpretation.  Therefore, we stress that though similar that we bear semblance in structure with the dominant species in Alpha-Cordus we bear a different composition, which yields to different constitutions.  

The ability of the royal family's main bloodline to have their consciousness displaced into Alpha-Cordus, experiencing the same limitations bound by that universe is 

. . .  

Ezra stared at the piece of paper and closed his eyes and rubbed it. It had been 4 weeks since Irriton and he was currently staying in the University district. After he and Reitz got back the discovered that their camp was attacked by Chimeraans however after a while they seemed to suddenly lost the urge to fight and directly went back to the center of the grove. The knights recounted their story and there two casualties in battle. Reitz sent an investigative team at the battle site and had to make a report to the capital about the Arcanist attack. Arcanist activity had been on the rise ever since Ezra was born and it looked like the Imperium would start a new campaign to quell the brooding arcanists. 

Ezra once again looked at the paper before him. He couldn't count how many times he read this already. He didn't need to because of his memory, however,  there was a peculiar feeling he got every time he read it.

The piece of paper was the only intelligible piece from what he assumed was a scientific journal. From the looks of it, it was like Earth's Nature or Scientific American. Upon examination of the book this part was the only piece of written text that could be understood. All other information from other pages were black and indecipherable. The page from where the excerpt existed was crumpled and ripped in half, obviously torn by hand. Ezra assumed that some people did not want the information to be read but, in their haste, failed to a properly dispose of the text. 

The page where the text was found seemed to have been printed using some sort of industrial printer, such is common for widespread publication. He also recognized the font immediately, it was the standard font of Latex (Computer Modern), a typesetting system normally used by Accademia for writing research papers. He had used it all the time for typesetting his own thesis and other requirements to be passed during his university years. 

It was dense with information with many things to unpack. The first of which is that the people who created the paper was aware for a quite some time that other universes existed, much earlier than the writing of the paper. 

Next is that the people who wrote this paper had a firm understanding of particle physics and even had a Standard Model of their own. The Standard model was a list of the most fundamental particles in the universe they are the building blocks of matter and energy, however it did not explain everything in the universe such as dark matter, dark energy and what gravity was in its entirety, if humans could unlock the secrets it would usher in a new era of technology. 

Delving into the contents of the text it was also obvious that the people who created this, even though it was written in English, were residents of this world. However, what confused Ezra was that they also had access to knowledge from Earth which they called Alpha Cordus. He had read two of the papers cited in the article which were from Earth. Yang and Lee's paper brought them a nobel prize for proving that the universe does care what spin (or the chirality) of a particle is. While Everet's paper was famous as the many world's interpretation of quantum physics. 

The people who created the paper identified themselves as Homo Medies due to their ability to manipulate magouns. Ezra asumed these were particles out of Earth's standard model. These particles were closely tied to the beings such that they could manipulate it. However, the method in which they manipulated the particles was not explicitly stated. 

He could only asume that the Homo Medeis was the species whose body he came to poses and that magouns were most probably what the locals called magic. If this was the case, then the civilization's knowledge was at a peak and they probably had unfathomable technology. Once you have a name for it you have power over it. Ezra involuntarily shuddered at the thought just thinking the ability of that civilization.  

However, that begs the question what on Earth happened to them. The people he was dwelling with now certainly did not have such profound knowledge of the sciences, and they were backward and medieval in every aspect of technology.  

Ezra found it disappointing that the text didn't contain the reasons why he felt "night beast rage" or the method of controlling chimeraans, somehow his gut feeling told him that they were related.  

It was also bizarre that they would use English for a text such as this and not their own language. He speculated that they also used English when publishing a paper because of almost all of the scientific papers were also published in English and thus followed the same convention. If he was correct, then that would mean that these people could tap into Earth somehow.  

The clue probably lay in "consciousness displaced into Alpha-Cordus." This statement was the thing that piqued him the most but also frustrated him because it did not a continue since the contents were ripped.  

There was a sudden knock on the door.  

"Come, in." Ezra beckoned as he closed the book and put in a cabinet under his desk. 

"Headmaster, Ezra," Rycharde greeted, "The stage is already prepared and we are waiting for your address." 

Ezra had almost forgotten; he was already in the University district and was in his office right now. Today was the day he would finally officiate the university. A lot was in store for him the coming year. The bet with Erela, and the official start of his educating the masses and turning Bren not only into knowledge hub but also into a veritable power.  

Ezra nodded.  

"I'm on my way." 

Ezra walked out the door hoping that he would not only unlock the secretes of the past, but also explore and create the future and this was the very first step to attaining progress.

A quantum physicist with eidetic memory reincarnates in a world of magic.
Born in upper nobility, Ezra must balance his pursuit of understanding the world around him, gaining power, and triumphing over the political power struggles that his family is dragged into while using modern knowledge, intellectual prowess and technology to advance his combat capabilities and develop his dominion.

_________________________________________________
Disclaimers: 
 1. This is dual hosted, on webnovel and on Royal Road. If I get a contract I might take it down from there.
2.  The novel starts off with a low word count because I did not think that this would gain a following of sorts. After chapter 8 the word count increases to 1k to 1.6k words. Right now my minimum word count is 1.1k but I normally write 1.2k words and above.
3. There will be detailed explanations for certain things in the book if you don't like that then this is not the novel for you.
4. I will try to limit the info dumps as much as possible and release it into bite-sized bits.
5. The novel is not yet fully edited as of this writing, I publish chapters as soon as I finish them.
6. The novel is parental guidance. There will be cussing and some swear words in chapters.
7. Beliefs, stances and opinions of characters in the novel do not represent the beliefs and ideologies of the author
8. Update is one chapter a week for the moment.

Editor: NONE
Map of Fulmen:
https://ibb.co/3MGkzmz

The interview was scheduled for a week later.
All of Lu Zhou's time was being spent on the miniaturization of controllable fusion.
In order to increase the maximum temperature peak of the bubble in the working fluid, several old professors at the Institute of Acoustics tried to help. They removed the acoustic suspension stabilizer on the ultrasonic generator, which increased the energy of the ultrasonic wave. The maximum sound pressure acting on the bubble was increased from 15 times atmospheric pressure to 30 times.
However, this all came at a cost.
Removing the acoustic suspension stabilizer meant that the bubbles couldn't remain stable in the center of the fluid container.
However, sonoluminescence didn't require the bubble to float in a certain position, so this didn't matter too much.
After the experiment equipment was updated, Lu Zhou brought Sheng Xianfu and the team to repeat the experiment. They used a gas mixture of xenon and deuterium and observed the bubble temperature and neutron recovery rate. 
When the completed experimental report was handed to Lu Zhou, Sheng Xianfu felt a mixture of emotions as he spoke, "The situation isn't looking good, the peak temperature can only reach a maximum of 10 million kelvin, but the lowest is only about 500,000 kelvin."
Lu Zhou stared at the experimental report and frowned.
"Is the difference that big?"
Sheng Xianfu nodded. "The temperature change observed by blackbody radiation is quite unstable. We don't know if our observations are incorrect, or if it's something else."
If they could make the bubble peak collapse temperature reach 10 million kelvin every time, it would be possible to stabilize the fusion reaction by shrinking the volume and using fast ignition.
Unfortunately, this seemed to be an extremely difficult thing to do.
Lu Zhou asked, "What about the neutron fluence rate?"
Sheng Xianfu hesitated for a second before saying, "It has improved… But we're still a long way from stable controllable fusion."
Lu Zhou thought for a bit before asking, "How is the new experiment container going?"
Sheng Xianfu: "The China National Nuclear Corporation already finished building it. It should arrive tomorrow."
Lu Zhou finally felt a little relieved.
He placed the experimental report on the table and said to everyone, "Today's experiment is finished, we'll check the equipment tomorrow, and use liquid lithium the day after that."
Sheng Xianfu nodded seriously.
"Ok!"
Just like Lu Zhou's calculations predicted, when the lighter liquid lithium was used as the working liquid, the sonoluminescence performance did exceed that of the concentrated sulfuric acid. Especially when the mixed gas was introduced, the sound pressure acting on the surface of the bubble was significantly improved and the maximum atmospheric pressure is 31.7 times atm[1].
However, the liquid lithium was at 700 degrees Celsius, making it extremely volatile. The experiment became several times more dangerous than using concentrated sulfuric acid.
During the third experiment, the experimenter accidentally mixed a small amount of oxygen when preparing the deuterium gas mixture electrolysis. This instantly caused the container to burst into flames.
Fortunately, the amount of oxygen was small. The researchers in the laboratory reacted quickly to the situation and rescued the laboratory. If the liquid lithium melted through the working container, the high-temperature liquid lithium would instantly be in direct contact with air. If that were to happen, they could forget about the laboratory; the entire building would be at stake.
After that, everyone in the Institute for Advanced Study viewed Sheng Xianfu's research team in a different way…
The days quickly passed by, and it was soon the day of the interview.
Lu Zhou was inside his office at the mathematics department of Jin Ling University. He met the interview team from CTV.
Coincidentally, he had met the reporter a year ago.
"Hello, Professor Lu," He Ying said. She was in a dark blue formal attire. She extended her hand and gently shook Lu Zhou's hand as she said, "We meet again."
Lu Zhou smiled and nodded.
"Long time no see, Ms. Ying… Should we start now?"
He Ying smiled and said, "Let's start then."
She knew Lu Zhou was busy with research, so she didn't waste time on small talk.
After He Ying sat down on the sofa, she adjusted her posture and signaled the cameraman next to her. She put on a professional smile and said, "I am honored to have this opportunity to interview you. Before the interview begins, I want to ask you a few questions on behalf of the audience at home."
Lu Zhou smiled and said, "Ask away, I'll try my best to answer."
He Ying smiled and said, "Don't worry, they are easy questions."
She said, "We all know that the Yang-Mills equations problem is solved and the unification of the strong interaction and the electromagnetic force will completely change the world of physics. However, most people are puzzled by these concepts, what do you think about the future of physics?"
Lu Zhou smiled and said, "You're gonna start off with such a hard question?"
He Ying smirked and said, "It might be hard for most people, but it should be easy for you, right?"
"As a scholar, what do I think about the future of physics… This question isn't easy to answer. After all, no one knows when a revolutionary set of theory is going to be discovered. " Lu Zhou contemplated for a bit and said, "The long-term goal of theoretical physicists is the Grand Unified Theory. Now that the strong interaction and the electromagnetic force have been successfully unified, the only thing left is gravity. Of course, even though we have spent a century researching this theory, we haven't even touched the tip of the iceberg." 
He Ying then asked seriously, "Is there a reason why gravitational force is so difficult to unify?"
Lu Zhou: "Of course! Gravity is the most mysterious field of physics, even though we are more intuitive regarding gravitational force than the other three fundamental forces. Actually, both string theory and the quantum gravitational theory explain gravity in two diametrically opposite ways. No one knows which is correct."
He Ying said, "What's a more realistic goal then?"
Lu Zhou leaned back on the sofa and said, "A more realistic, or short-term goal, is to verify and explore the standard model. Even though the standard model is magnificent, we can always find things that exist outside of the standard model. Whether through experiments or theoretical research."
Lu Zhou paused for a second and jokingly said, "Like the m particle, even though I don't know what it looks like, I can prove its existence using mathematical methods. If someone can find the particle, then another piece of the standard model puzzle would be solved."
He Ying: "This sounds very exciting."
Lu Zhou smiled and said, "Yeah, exploration of the unknown is exciting."
He Ying: "However, theoretical physics is still a very distant concept for most of us. Can you explain how theoretical physics influences society?"
Lu Zhou thought for a long time.
He Ying began to wonder if Lu Zhou was allowed to answer this question. She was about to ask the cameraman to pause the interview when Lu Zhou suddenly spoke.
"This is a very abstract question. It is very difficult for me to tell you about a theoretical physics discovery that people can see with their own eyes. Just like the Higgs particle, gravitational waves, etc. The things we find in the universe are generally useless for most people.
"This includes the m particle that I talked about earlier. Even if we unify the electroweak interaction, electrostrong interaction, and gravitational force, and create a theory of everything, the universe will still remain the same. Perhaps we should use theoretical physics funding for charity work, it will make people's lives better."
Lu Zhou paused for a second before he added seriously, "However, if no one researches these seemingly 'useless' things, we won't have a future."
[1] Atmospheric pressure


After suffering from a heat stroke while working under the scorching heat of summer, Lu Zhou, a hardworking but poor university student, somehow becomes the owner of an advanced technological system. With the cheat given by the system, his university life changes overnight. 
  
A Master's degree? Easy. 
  
PhD? Not a problem.   
  
From a nobody, he quickly becomes a huge celebrity in the world of science. With the missions given by the system, he is on his way to winning a Nobel Prize.   

"System, can points be exchanged for money?"
  
"No."
  
"F**k, what use are you then!?"
  
"This system will make you the ultimate scholar, the kind that lords over all of humanity. What use will money be to you?"

Jian Wushuang stayed in Lineage of Star since then.
He never paid attention in cultivation as his power had reached a bottleneck. The only thing he could do was improve his comprehension towards Reincarnation Doctrine and Spacetime Doctrine. However, such comprehension didn't require him to cultivate in seclusion but natural comprehension in a relaxed state would have a better effect.
Jian Wushuang stayed in Sword Star and drank with Ling Feibai, Long Ya and a few others occasionally. Sometimes, he would give pointers to Qiu Yue and the other maidservants regarding cultivation.
Every one hundred years, he would visit Real God Hall and he would stay in there for a year.
The time flew past. It had been a thousand and eight hundred years in the blink of an eye.
In the one thousand and eight hundred years, Jian Wushuang lived at ease. In the one thousand and eight hundred years, he stayed in Lineage of Star and never left.
…
Real God Hall.
The entrance suddenly opened and Jian Wushuang, who had comprehended in it for a year, slowly exited.
After he exited Real God Hall, Jian Wushuang let out a heavy sigh.
"As expected, ever since my comprehension towards Spacetime Doctrine reached the standard of passing the first level of Doctrine Palace, my comprehension towards the Power of Heaven Way has stopped entirely. Even after I comprehended in Real God Hall for a year, there wasn't much improvement," Jian Wushuang felt helpless.
He knew since long ago that with his improvement in comprehension, his speed of improvement was as slow as a snail, even with the assistance of Real God Hall.
A hundred years ago, also one hundred thousand and seven hundred years after he had come back from Wu Bei's cave, his comprehension towards Spacetime Doctrine already reached the standard of the first level of Doctrine Palace.
After reaching that standard, he had no space for improvement in terms of comprehension towards Power of Heaven Way.
For the past century, there was no improvement in both Reincarnation Doctrine and Spacetime Doctrine.
"I'm still restricted by my realms as Universe God in the Second Heaven," Jian Wushuang sighed emotionally.
In his current state, he had even reached the limit of unique skill that his realm could be at.
It was the same in terms of soul strength.
Then, even his comprehension towards Power of Heaven Way had reached the limit of a Universe God in the Second Heaven.
In other words, unless he passed his third Inverse Cultivation Test and become a Universe God in the Third Heaven, he wouldn't improve at all in terms of his power.
Many years passed but the third Inverse Cultivation Test never came. There weren't even any signs of it coming.
Regarding that, Jian Wushuang was rather helpless too. He could only sit and wait patiently.
Lineage of Star, in the rolling palaces, Jian Wushuang was walking alone slowly.
On the way, he met many disciples of Lineage of Star. The disciples were discussing him quietly as they looked at him with admiration.
One should know that for the past one thousand and eight hundred years, the brand new Universe God ranking list and the incident in Wu Bei's cave had spread like wildfire.
As the most eye-catching person in Wu Bei's cave and the third-ranked on Universe God ranking list, Jian Wushuang was naturally the disciples' role model.
They were even many disciples of Lineage of Star who treated Jian Wushuang as the pride of Lineage of Star.
After all, ever since Star Palace Master had started Lineage of Star, Jian Wushuang had been the first to get listed in the top three on Universe God ranking list.
But what they didn't know was that he was deeply distressed that his third Inverse Cultivation Test had yet to come.
Just then, there was a message that popped in.
"Mister, the person that you asked Vientiane Tower to look for, we found a clue."
Jian Wushuang's footstep paused and there was a glimpse of light in his eyes.
"Finally, there's news!" Jian Wushuang couldn't help but clench his fists.
Two thousand years ago, since he had been released from Sky Sword Prison, he found Vientiane Tower and entrusted them to look for his wife for him for a price of ten hundred million Chaos Gem.
Vientiane Tower promised that they would reply to him within three thousand years.
But then, it had been two thousand over years and Vientiane Tower really did give him an answer.
…
On Star land, in a secret room in the Vientiane Tower branch where Jian Wushuang had requested the task.
"Mister, according to your criteria, Vientiane Tower went through two thousand years of searches and finally found one person. It is extremely likely that she is the Primordial Great Sinner that you are looking for," a purple-haired elderly stood before Jian Wushuang as he said.
"Extremely likely? In other words, it's not certain?" Jian Wushuang creased his eyebrows.
"It's hard to be certain. After all, her behavior is creepy and she won't reveal herself, nor did she fight with anyone. Vientiane Tower only found her through multiple indications. We are definite that she is a Primordial Great Sinner and she is a woman. On top of that, she only appeared in Eternal Chaotic World within the last ten thousand years!" 
"With these three indications, although Vientiane Tower isn't a hundred percent sure that she is the person you're looking for, we are at least seventy percent confident," the purple-haired elderly said.
Jian Wushuang's pupils contracted.
A Primordial Great Sinner, a woman, and she had only appeared in Eternal Chaotic World in the past ten thousand years.
The three signs did match his wife, Leng Rushuang (Leng Ruxue).
"It must be her!" Jian Wushuang grew emotional and he immediately asked, "Where is she now?"
"According to the news that Vientiane Tower received, she is currently in Blood Demon Church in Jiu Gong Holy Kingdom and she seems to hold a high position in Blood Demon Church," the purple-haired elderly replied.
"Blood Demon Church?" Jian Wushuang creased his eyebrows.
The name Blood Demon Church itself indicated that it wasn't any kind sect.
"Blood Demon Church in Jiu Gong Holy Kingdom belonged to a strong force. They seem to have quite a few Real Gods too," the purple-haired elderly smiled.
"In a Holy Kingdom, means that it is outside of Ten Cultivation Sanctuaries?" Jian Wushuang muttered to himself.
Soon after he left Vientiane Tower, he returned to Lineage of Star.
When he arrived at Lineage of Star, he went to see Hall Master Yuan immediately.
In the cave made of unique gemstones.
"Jian Wushuang, it's rare that you come to see me. Could it be that your third Inverse Cultivation Test is coming, or did you reach a bottleneck in your cultivation and you need me to prepare some cultivation resources for you?" Hall Master Yuan looked at Jian Wushuang attentively.
"The third Inverse Cultivation Test never came, not even a sign. As for cultivation resources, I don't need them as of now. I came here today to ask Hall Master Yuan for a favor," Jian Wushuang said.
"Oh?" Hall Master Yuan raised his eyebrows. He knew that Jian Wushuang's character was proud and aloof. If it was something he could do himself, he definitely wouldn't ask for the other's assistance. But then, Jian Wushuang found him. He definitely ran into trouble that he couldn't resolve on his own.
"Tell me, what do you need me to do for you?" Hall Master Yuan looked at him.


Jian Wushuang was reborn in adversity. In order to get his revenge, he began to cultivate Heavenly Creation Skill. With the help of the Heaven defying cultivation method, Jian Wushuang gradually grew into a peerless genius from an ordinary practitioner. With a sword in hand, no one is his match. Using his extraordinary Sword Principle, he killed all his opponents and eventually became number one Sword Master from time immemorial.

Ves made the biggest gamble of his life so far. If he won, he'd be able to produce a stellar mech and sell it for a hefty profit, making more than enough money to meet his impending interest payment. Success danced on a string, and each time Ves stumbled, he risked the whole scheme coming apart.
First, Ves needed to grow accustomed to the Caesar Augustus. Fortunately, a real universe production license also counted as a virtual license in Iron Spirit's terms of service. He only needed to send a copy of the license agreement to the game's support to be able to tinker and sell the model in-game.
As a lastgen mech in today's standard, the CA-1 counted as a 5-star mech in the game. This meant only older, more skilled potentates had the capability to buy the mech. The Caesar Augustus could be sold for a higher price, allowing Ves to earn some actual profits from his sales if he designed a good enough variant.
Iron Spirit's tiered leagues put a cap on how good a mech you could play depending on how well you progressed in the game.
A Bronze Leaguer only had access to 1-star mechs.
A Silver Leaguer had access to 2-star and 3-star mechs, though they could still play around with 1-star mechs if they wanted to have some fun.
A Gold Leaguer had access to both 4-star and 5-star mechs. Most potentates that did not pursue a professional career in piloting mechs languished in this League.
When one reached Platinum League or further, they gained unrestricted access to every mech, even the mythical 10-star mechs. However, the higher the tier, the more expensive the mechs cost to purchase and to repair if it ever got damaged. The fancier mechs even required weeks of in-game time to repair if they got completely destroyed. This meant that a fair number of Platinum and Diamond players still occasionally took a 5-star mech into a match for the purpose of earning some easy gold.
This resulted in 5-star mechs being one of the most profitable tiers in Iron Spirit. High performing models especially attracted attention. However, whether Ves could break into this market was still a question, considering he lacked familiarity and expertise with the Caesar Augustus.
In the 45 days of time before the Young Tigers Exhibition started, Ves needed to produce an extensive and realistic redesign of the CA-1's stock model. He needed to acquire new sub-skills and credits to buy virtual licenses of the components he needed for his redesign.
In the meantime, he had to release a number of mech designs in the game in order to generate even more credits. Much of the money would be used to buy the real universe production licenses of the components he had used in the game.
It sounded terribly complicated, but actually Ves didn't need to change what he had been doing so far. Essentially, Ves only needed to continue to design variants and put them onto the in-game market to sell.
First, Ves contacted Iron Spirit's support in order to receive his virtual license. A production license of a lastgen mech already cost many millions of credits. He'd be damned if he was forced to purchase a 5-star mech's virtual license, which potentially ran into the millions.
While he waited for his application to be approved, Ves shut off all distractions and loaded the CA-1 into the System's Designer program to begin tinkering with it. He wanted to pry apart its shiny armor and see how much of a mess its infamous internals looked like. Besides finding a replacement material for its armor, Ves also needed to optimize the internals in order to turn the CA-1 into a competitive mech.
One look and his hopes were dashed. It really did look like someone took a plate's worth of spaghetti and tried to stuff it in a small cup. It was doable, but it mashed everything together and left far too little slack. Cables, pipes and structural supports all crammed right next to each other, sometimes dangerously so. For example, if a certain cable broke and released electric sparks, it could ignite the gas released from a punctured pipe.
Though Ves knew these linkages could produce a catastrophe, he lacked the skills and resources to fix them. He could only document each fault he came across and come back to the problem later. Ves spent the rest of the day combing over each and every component, to the point of dismantling the engine even if he understood little on how the advanced component worked.
Ves took a deep breath when he finished going over the Caesar Augustus. If he wanted to understand the model deeper, then he needed to fabricate the stock model. He took a minute to log into the in-game market and inspected the model's market conditions.
"Damn, that's expensive!"
An average CA-1 sold for about fifty thousand credits, and that was for an in-game item! 5-star mechs belonged to an entirely different market segment than 1-star mechs. The latter catered to kids while the former was sold to professionals.
The raw materials required to fabricate the mech likely cost tens of thousands of credit as well. Since Ves had set rock bottom prices to his virtual mechs, he hadn't earned even a single credit or gold even after selling over a hundred models.
"I'm earning a decent amount of DP from every sale. If I raise the price, my mechs won't be able to stay competitive in the market. It's better if I don't change the prices."
The Caesar Augustus represented a marvel of its time. In order to solve its many puzzles, Ves required learning many new skills.
But while he needed to save up a lot of DP, he also couldn't go without credits. Ves switched to his mail and was relieved the game's support approved of his request to claim the CA-1's virtual license. After loading the mech's stock model in the in-game workshop, he received an unpleasant bill.
"So it costs about forty thousand credits in raw materials to build the base model. Even if the gold price looks a bit friendlier, it's not like I have a bag of virtual gold either."
The lack of cash on hand stymied Ves' progress in researching the Caesar Augustus. There was only so much he could do to play around with the mech's design in the designer.
Ves had learned one important lesson when designing the Fantasia variants. A passionate mech designer needed to get hands-on with his own creations. Just making a few doodles in a design program didn't turn you into a veteran designer. A real craftsman got his hands dirty, putting each and every part together to see how it works and where any problems might arise.
With only about nine thousand credits on hand, Ves needed to scrounge up at least 31,000 credits from any source he could squeeze. He first checked the System, but couldn't find any option to convert his DP to credits. Perhaps he could buy a few knick knacks from the Shop and sell it for a tidy sum, but that option wasted too much valuable points.
"Should I call Melinda?" Ves wondered out loud.
Family stuck together. If Ves took the time to explain his plans and difficulties to his cousin, he was sure she'd lend him the credits.
"It's not right. It's due to my own poor planning that I'm facing a shortage on credits."
If he cried and went to his family to bail him out, then sure, they might lend him a hand. It would also prove that he'd been in over his head. His aunts and uncles already disapproved of his career path. He wanted to avoid giving them ammunition.
Perhaps sell Lucky's gems? Ves had dug out half-a-dozen of these little shinies, and they all provided minor benefits when installed onto any mech. Any pilot would love them if they realized they could improve their mechs by just installing a single jewel.
Shaking his head, Ves discarded the idea. "Nah, that's a last resort."
If he introduced these gems to the universe, a lot of powerful players would want to know their source. Ves lacked the strength to isolate himself from the connected universe he lived in. It was child's play to track him down once he revealed any oddities.
"Forget about it. I need to figure out something else. What do I have that's valuable but not so much that it can be sold for some quick cash?"
The workshop? Out of the question. The building, 3d printer and assembler constituted the most basic requirements of a mech manufacturer. Ves couldn't part with any of it. He might as well make a deal with the bank about the loan if he gave up on the workshop.
What else did he have? The licenses, for one. Since he had just read through the terms of the Caesar Augustus' production license, he became well aware of what he could do with it. National Aeromotives didn't allow any shenanigans nor did they accept any refunds of a license Ves acquired through a charity grant.
"I still have a number of 1-star virtual licenses. At this stage they're helpful, but not necessary to my plans. I wonder if I'm allowed to refund them. I bought them out of my own pocket after all. Perhaps their terms aren't as restrictive."
Ves searched the galactic net to see whether he could get some money out of the licenses. To his relief, the BSBH Corporation indeed set down a standard policy for returns.
A virtual license could be relinquished within the week at no cost if the purchaser hadn't used it in any of his current models. If the owner possessed the license for more than a year, then the game wouldn't give one credit back.
Ves fell in the situation in between, having bought the licenses for more than a week but much less than a year. Iron Spirit allowed purchasers to get back 75% of their money if the licenses were not in use, and only 50% if they were. These terms only applied to licenses bought personally at normal prices.
Licenses bought at a discount or granted by other institutions didn't count, and unfortunately for Ves, the virtual licenses gifted by the System fell under this category.
Ves' head spun after he combed through all the license agreements, but his work paid off. He knew what he could return and how much money he could claw back from the game. He visited Iron Spirit's support site and submitted a refund application.
[Astoria Experimental Flight System]: 12,500 bright credits
[Fayette ECM Mk. I]: 3,500 bright credits
[Red Eye Assisted Aim Module]: 4,999.50 bright credits
[MTTR Removable Battery Pack]: 1,500 bright credits
[Harconix Light DMR Version 3]: 9,999.50 bright credits
[Mirin-21 Ultralight Armor Plating]: 5,000 bright credits
The total amount of credits Ves expected to get back was 37,499 credits. He left out the Festive Cloud Generator in his refund application because he grew rather fond of it. He intended to incorporate the small, innocuous part in his other designs whenever it fit.
As the support staff already received Ves' personal information when he made his previous licensing request, they worked quickly in processing the refund. An hour later, Ves received a mail and a credit transfer that indicated his refund application met with success.
With about 45,000 credits in spendable cash, Ves was more than ready to start producing the Caesar Augustus, at least in Iron Spirit. Yet before he did so, he hesitated.
The Caesar Augustus was a monstrously complex mech. While many processes had been streamlined in Iron Spirit's virtual crafting environment, it still remained a lifelike simulation. If Ves failed to produce a mech that matched the stock model's specifications, at the very worst he'd end up with an unsellable mech.
A mech that remained stuck in place meant no new cash flow. Without another source of credits, he wouldn't be able to produce another virtual mech to advance his understanding of the model and earn more cash.
All of this meant he couldn't fail at the first step.
"I'm not alone in this." Ves realized as he slapped his forehead. "Just because I can't beg for money from Melinda doesn't mean I can't ask for advice."
He activated his comm and made a call to Bentheim.
Melinda's face popped up. Instead of the casual clothes she wore in her recent visit, this time she appeared in a formal uniform. "Hey Vessie, what's up?"
"I'm good, but I've got a little trouble."
"Okay, tell it to me briefly. I'm technically on shift so I need to get back to work soon."
Ves nodded and described how he received a grant license of the infamous Caesar Augustus. Naturally the charity the System setup looked squeaky clean on paper, so Ves wasn't worried Melinda would dig into it and find anything improper. He emphasized his determination to tackle the challenge of mastering its design.
Frowning, Melinda tutted her disapproval. "They've sure thrown you off the deep end. The CA-1 is a beast of a machine, not something a fresh college graduate should come into contact with. This sounds pretty shady."
"Nevermind that Melinda. Just tell me if you can pry something loose from the Mech Corps or the Bentheim Planetary Guard. Without getting you into trouble, of course."
Melinda furrowed her brow. "I can ask the mechanics for some tips. I'll also see if I can dig something up from the archives. I'll pass anything I can find along to you as long as it's not classified or proprietary knowledge."
"Thanks a lot. I'm sorry for troubling you that much."
"Hey, you're family, Vessie. I'd do anything to help. I gotta go back to work now, so see ya later!"
"Bye!"
With that done, Ves turned to a different issue. With his DP steadily accumulating, he should make a tentative shopping list of sub-skills he needed to rework the CA-1. He opened his Skill Tree and started to comb over the available skills.


Humanity has conquered half the galaxy and the Age of Mechs reigns supreme!

Ves Larkinson lacked the genetic aptitude to become a famed mech pilot. Fighting against his fate, he studied mech design in order to express his love for mechs as a builder instead of a soldier.

When Ves graduated from college, he returned to a new but empty boutique. Left with a small, newly founded mech workshop that his father painstakingly built with a mountain of debt, Ves somehow needs to make ends meet with the bank breathing down his neck.

In the midst of his despair, he found salvation from another legacy his father had left.

"Welcome to the Mech Designer System. Please design your new mech."

--Join The Mech Touch's unofficial Discord server: https://discord.gg/APB5KCU

*I have an hour to search for the most optimal things possible... Or, if I'm willing, I can spend... 14 Plate for another hour. Alright. First order of business. How much is Plate worth?*

I had no time to admire this futuristic computer in front of me. I quickly figured out how to access the home screen and found a browser called AmthLess Explorer.

This was a question with a simple solution. Obviously, this was a currency I had never heard of, and in a foreign world, there probably weren't going to be any other currencies I had heard of, either. So, I had to compare this with something I knew the value of.

*And what's the quintessential valuable metal? Gold!*

So, my first search was simple.

"*>value of gold*"

This was the best I could do. I didn't know what gold was called here, nor did I know if gold was the quintessential valuable in this world. However, I had no leads, and I had to start somewhere. The result was lightning-fast.

"*Aurum (Gold) is worth 4.40p per milliauq*"

*Although this is to be expected... I have to deal with more units I've never heard of, which is a pain.*

I was getting nowhere. I didn't know what a 'milliauq' was, so I wasn't any closer to figuring out how much 1 Plate was truly worth. Instead of producing an answer, my question merely birthed more questions. And so, a slew of web searches commenced.

"*>milliauq*"

Fortunately, the most convenient answer was placed directly on the forefront of the screen of the search engine, so I had to waste no time digging through various links.

*What a convenient feature. I'm sure someone could have come up with this within the next few years on Earth.*

"*1/1000th of the standard unit of mass, auq.*"

"*>auqw*"

"*The standard unit of mass. Determined by 1 livre of Laut water.*"

"*>Laut water*"

"*100% pure water at 4 degrees RA. Water at its densest form. Uses popularized by physical attribute specialists Uzuki & Alheim Laut in BST 128.*"

"*>degrees RA*"

"*Degrees Relative Absolute. An absolute measurement of the movement of particles to the freezing point of water. Absolute zero, the stillness of all particles, is measured at -273.15A.*"

"*>livre*"

"*The standard unit of volume. The volume of Laut water with a mass of 1 auq. Equivalent to 1000 cubic centimetron.*"

*Ah, crap.*

What was I doing? I was supposed to be looking up the value of currency, and now I'd gotten carried away. However, I was in a position in which I was wholly ignorant of the workings of this world. How could I resist learning basic information? Regardless of when I learned this, I would have to learn it at some point or another. It was best if it were sooner.

Anyway, here was the basic breakdown of my findings so far:

- Gold is referred to by its Latin counterpart, Aurum, although it still seemed to be referred to as Gold by a minority.

- Auq = Kilogram.

- Relative Absolute and Absolute = Celsius and Kelvin respectively.

- Livre, an ancient French word, = Liter.

- Metron, and ancient Greek word, = Meter. 

- Laut water was just distilled water at 4 degrees Celsius.

Due to Laut water's prevalence in units of measurement, it seemed like this scientist gained the privilege of naming something oddly specific after him. As for the history of this scientist and the time period, I wasn't interested at the moment. This wasn't to say I wouldn't look further into it. I was just pressed for time. Four minutes of my free computer usage had passed, and I still hadn't learned the value of currency. I had to quickly come up with an answer.

*Let's see...*

*">value of aurum history*"

I was looking for various charts that would match those in my memory. I knew the line graph of the value of gold was over the past hundred years, so all I had to do was see if a similar match occurred anywhere on this timeline. Of course, this was a gamble. There was no telling whether this world's history would allow the gold prices to be identical to that of Earth's, but it was worth a shot. But...

*No matches. Also... Why is it so unstable?*

I wrinkled my brow at the vexing results. One thing was for sure; gold was absolutely NOT the quintessential valuable in this world. At times, its value was sky high. Then, as if it were Icarus, it plummeted towards nothing. This occurred disturbingly frequently.

*I messed up.*

I admitted defeat. Knowing your weaknesses and tendencies as well as recognizing how and why you failed was the ultimate tool in self-improvement.

I could only look at the ground in shame, when I suddenly had an idea. I could search for this myself, but I turned to the AI doll for some assistance. Such a technology in front of my was truly too mesmerizing. How could I not test it out?

*Judging from the reactions of the one at the front desk, it seems to have capability to browse the Internet. If this one is the same model, it should have the same capabilities.*

"Miss, uh, unit V03. Is the currency on this planet standardized on a certain precious metal?"

At this question, I grew conscious of some of the nearby patrons shooting me quizzical glances.

*Well, it's understandable.*

This wasn't a normal question. I understood that my priorities were vastly different from the majority surrounding me, but it had always been like this. I was used to it.

"Currently, the value of Plate is not bound to any resource. However, for a vast majority of this planet's history, it was on a platinum standard. Once the standard was lifted, the name of the currency was changed to Plate."

"I see..."

*Platinum... Plat... Plate. Quite the naming sense. So that was my error.*

Instead of a gold standard, this planet used a platinum standard. If that was the case, my next search term was evident.

*">value of platinum history"*

This time, I recognized a portion of the graph.

*Bingo.*

Indeed, a portion of this graph was identical to Earth's graph of the value of gold!

*Although... the known portion clearly ends prematurely. So, this world's technology is over a hundred years ahead of ours? Now that's fascinating...*

According to the computer, the current date was 13/13/308 AEST, which stood for Akth Era of Space Travel. So according to the graph, the year would be 2116 on Earth...

*... They invented space travel in the Earth equivalent of... 1808? Something's not right here.*

This was absurd. On Earth, there wasn't even a man in space until the year 1961, yet here, space *travel* was accomplished in 1808?

This could be the result of multiple factors. One of them was obviously the fact that the graph in my head and the current graph I was looking at occurred at different time periods in their respective universes, even if they were identical. Another factor could be that this carbon copy was merely a coincidence.

*Ugh, whatever. At least I know that the value of Plate...*

1 Plate was pretty much equal to 1 US Dollar, which made things simple. Even though I was fluent on the values of many currencies, the US Dollar was still the most familiar to me.

*Now... how do I check my bank account? Moreover, how do I even use this watch?*

So, I had to look up a tutorial on how to operate a smartwatch.

——

*So it's like that, huh...*

It was innovative beyond my wildest dreams. On a little tiny screen of approximately 4 square centimeters, or centimetron, I should say, was a fully-functioning multi-touch screen. I had never seen anything like it. But little did I know, that was just the tip of the iceberg.

According to the startup screen, the model of my watch was apparently called the Starcel 1 Gold, the most innovative hybrid of a MI band and ECD. Needless to say, its capabilities weren't limited to just a touch screen.

*This is actually fucking crazy.*

In short, it was something straight out of science fiction. The moment I accessed the interface, a whole new universe opened up in front of me.

Basically, after following some dummy-level tutorials on the AmthLess Vodsite (Video-on-demand website), I managed to open a multi-level holographic user interface. Now, normally, this would be enough to stun anyone from my world. But that wasn't all. Apparently, this type of hologram was known as a "mana interface" (MI for short), which meant it was only visible to the user, as the visuals were only delivered to the host via the mind. This took me a while to wrap my head around. It had the capabilities of a fully-functioning general computer.

This MI band was the hub for all things Internet-related; it was a computer that was fully displayed and operated via the mind. Naturally, checking the balance of my bank account was as simple as installing an application and opening it.

The process it used to verify my identity was known as "elemental signature scanning". Since this computer already had access to my mind, all it needed to do was scan my magic element and aura.

*... Apparently, anyway. I still have no idea what any of that means.*

According to a brief search, elemental signature scanning was far more secure than verification via the physical element, such as fingerprints or retinal scans. Verifying the information from multiple sources, I had no choice but to believe this was true.

Checking my account, I had 10,000p to my name.

*Huh. That's quite a bit. I'll have to thank my benefactor if I ever meet him...*

This was the gist of the MI band. Now that I knew how to operate it, I didn't necessarily need to use the computer in front of me anymore, but I wanted to take advantage of the time I had remaining. I didn't know if there were other caveats to using the MI band, so I wanted to stick with what I knew for now.

The other device that came with this Starcel thing was the ECD, or Elemental Computational Device. Upon searching for images of it, I instantly recognized it as the armored sleeves the cheeky group was wearing. I also realized that they were wearing some of the highest-end ECDs available, the Accel Stance 4, which was currently selling for tens of thousands of Plate...

*Are those kids rich, or what? Tens of thousands of dollars for this device, and all of them are handily equipped with one.*

I looked around for information on my Starcel 1, but I couldn't really find any information about it. The extent of my findings were relatively vague.

"*>Starcel 1 Gold*"

"*Are Starr Corp and Accel Industries are collaborating on a secret project that could change household technologies as we know it? Read more here to find out!*"

These were the sorts of tabloid-like results I would pull up. Whatever the case may be, the Starcel 1 wasn't released to the public yet, which made it a mystery as to how my mysterious backer even managed to get his hands on one in the first place.

In short, an ECD was meant for casting spells and viewing personal stats. Remember how I said this was a game-like world? An ECD essentially aided you with the manifestation of game-like mechanics. Spells could be cast at the user's whim, but it was much more complicated to do so without the assistance of an ECD. For a comparison, it would be like trying to multiply large numbers. This process could be done by a human, but a calculator would be much faster. This was the power of the ECD; a standard spell could be bolstered to unprecedented levels with the aid of this device.

This device brought to my attention my stat points and skills.

——

Of course, I had no idea what my relative stats were to the general population.

Although there are infinitely many numbers, there are finitely many people. If I were to pursue perfection by raising my stats to infinity... well, the outcome would be obvious. I would be nowhere closer to the end during the journey than when I started.

But before I even knew that, I had to understand what these terms even meant.

"*>attributes*"

*Looks like I've been wasting my time on trying to figure out what my money's worth when I don't even understand basic truths of this world…*

"*Attributes (Elements): The fundamental building blocks of the universe. Made of particles, waves, or a combination of both. The five attributes are physical, magical, ethereal, dark, and spiritual.*"

"*>physical attribute*"

"*One of the most studied and well-known attributes. Simple to study due to its high rate of affinity amongst humans. Comprises of 4 ancient sub-elements and 118 modern sub-elements.*"

I clicked on a link to read further.

"*The 4 ancient sub-elements are air, water, fire, and earth. The 118 modern sub-elements are commonly organized on the periodic table of sub-elements. In order of atomic number; Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium…*"

*The 'physical attribute' seems to be the one everyone already knows about, but apparently there's four more... Let's see what they're about.*

"*>magical attribute*"

"*The most uncharted and coveted attribute. The element of the mind. Notoriously difficult to study due to its low rate of affinity amongst humans. No definite sub-elements. A full list of sub-elements highly debated upon by specialists can be found here. Click to read further.*"

*Click.*

"*Joy, despair, anxiety...*"

*What the hell. These are just emotions. Looks like I don't understand this for now... Let's keep looking.*

"*>ethereal attribute*"

"*The element of information. The ethereal attribute and ethereal plane are resonant with all the goings-on of the universe. The two sub-elements are transmission and reception.*"

"*>dark attribute*"

"*Identical to the physical attribute. Deals with the creation, control, and usage of dark and antimatter.*"

After reading this, I was stunned yet again.

*Dark and antimatter?*

On Earth, dark matter was just a mathematical theory for the inexplicable expansion of the universe. Yet here, it appeared to be common knowledge... What was even crazier was that humans could create and control dark matter on a whim, which automatically granted absolutely everyone a degree of superhuman ability.

*Well, I don't think I'll be able to make any use of it. All of my stats relating to the dark attribute are 0, anyway.*

"*>spiritual attribute*"

"*A combination of all formless attributes; the auras of physic, magic, dark, and ether. All aura resides in the astral plane.*"

It was truly a lot to take in. Imagining four more 'attributes' just as relevant to the world as what you normally see every day... It was like trying to imagine a new color. It simply wasn't possible without experiencing it firsthand.

After looking up a map of the general area, I navigated the mouse to log off.

*Let's stop here for now.*

I gained all the relevant information I needed for now. I had also learned that I could pretty much surf the net, or Etherless as they call it, from my MI band as long as my ethereal affinity was high enough. The higher my affinity, the more remote locations I could browse from. It was basically like mobile data. It was stated that individuals approaching 100% ethereal affinity could access the Etherless from almost anywhere on the planet, so worrying about having 'no bars' in the wild was needless.

*This was very beneficial. Hopefully I never see this place again.*

I stood up and prepared to leave, but before I walked out the door, I noticed a stack of sticky notes on the reception desk. I suddenly remembered what Yijun said to me. I pondered for a moment before taking a bunch of them and sticking them all over my face. Of course, I received more strange looks from the patrons.

*What are you idiots looking at? This is completely ordinary. If I run into him again, I wonder how he'll react...*

With this amusing thought, I confidently strutted out the door and headed towards the main entrance.

Jon Xu is taken to another world. Isekai trash.

Jon is a fairly intelligent, ordinary high schooler who loves physical and mental challenges, but only if they’re in the form of games. One day, it seems like the world suddenly ends; he is taken to a new world by a mysterious white light after school. How is this world different? Who is watching him? Why is he here? What is his goal? What is a “monolith”? Find out next episode on dragon ballzzzz

Do not read if you despise monologues.

Unravel the mysteries of this new world alongside the main character, as well as truths about him and his family. What can you determine?

This is an isekai written by me. Inspired by a wide variety of isekai stories.

Release ~1 chapter/week or less

Why did I decide to write this?
First of all, I'm just an ordinary person. Before writing this, I had no experience in creative writing at all. I am also an isekai fanatic. I have read and/or watched a multitude of isekais, and some of them are bad. Like, really bad (see Conception and Master of Ragnarok)... I knew for a fact that I could write a better story than those. If those could get animes, why not try to write my own? I also wanted to create a world that the reader can explore. This concept is heavily inspired by Overlord, my favorite series of all time. Although the quality is nowhere near as good, I wanted to create an experience similar to that of reading Overlord for the first time and picking apart the world. I hope I am doing a decent job.

Before the complicated feelings in his heart died away, waves of spiritual power, after being adjusted by the ritual of 'Origin of Magic', flowed toward him gently at Lucien's own frequency.
In the meantime, the whole deep, boundless sky quaked slightly. The mysterious force was concentrated on the projection of Lucien's Host Star of Destiny. Because Fernando hosted the ritual in person, the 'star of mysteries', the terrible darkness behind it that seemed able to absorb everything, was not neglected.
The projection of the Host Star of Destiny hummed and shivered with noises that were inaudible to ordinary people. In the meantime, Lucien summoned his cognitive world in meditation, allowing the bright and dark Host Star of Destiny inside shake at the same time. As they were synchronized, Lucien had the feeling that the real world was ebbing, and that his cognitive world was surrounding his body and his soul.
After the half-solidification, Lucien's cognitive world was already able to influence the real world as he wished. Therefore, Lucien gradually spread out the feeling and changed everything around him.
At the center of the ritual, the stars were vaguely curved. Symbols of elements flashed in different colors, with the internal structure made of protons, neutrons and electrons. They split and gathered, producing the myriad of elements in the material world, before all the elements were gathered into the pure iron universe.
Lucien's legendary class, 'Atom Controller', did not seem to overlap with the path of quantum mechanics that he intended to walk on, but quantum mechanics were based on the exploration of the microworld after all. The studies on the electron alone had produced amazing and unbelievable achievements. Then, the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force, the last two of the four fundamental forces, were recognized, before the basic model of particles was developed and the electromagnetic power and the weak nuclear force were united.
Therefore, the shabby model of atomic nucleus was deepened and developed into a standard model of particles without changing the foundation.
After a while, the pure influence of the cognitive world 'touched' Lucien's body for real, making him feel the tremendous power.
Surpassing his body, his cognitive world and his soul met in the material world. Under their influence, the starry magic models constructed inside his soul all glittered with bright and dreamy brilliance.
Lucien felt that his soul was shaking, and that his ability to think and control the cognitive world plummeted. It was ten times more difficult for him to continue the modification of his soul with the cognitive world.
The magic models were vaguely curved like real stars, which gradually raised Lucien's viewpoint and gave him a strange feeling that he was looking down at himself from somewhere high.
The quake of the soul was even more intense. The edge became blurry and was connected to the unpredictable cognitive world. Then, it expanded into a fleeting cloud that intended to enshroud the cognitive world from the outside. At this point, Lucien's spiritual power almost ran dry, but the spiritual power of the six grand arcanists proved by the ritual of Origin of Magic was as incessant as an ocean, ready for him to squander.
With the lofty feeling, Lucien recovered from the shock of melding with his spiritual power. He watched the cognitive world collapse and develop into his soul, containing the magic models.
As a result, three curtains were formed. The soul was at the outermost level, then it was the cognitive world, and there were plenty of magic models inside the cognitive world. He felt that he was in control of everything.
Dwelling in the fabulous feeling, Lucien suddenly felt excruciating pain. He knew that the most difficult test had come, especially when his soul hadn't reached the legendary standard yet!
His cognitive world suddenly expanded, tearing holes in the soul at the outermost level.
The pain from his soul almost made Lucien give up, but he gritted his teeth and tried to enjoy it while he repaired his soul with the power transmitted by the ritual of Origin of Magic!
Very soon, the pain arrived at the peak. Lucien felt that his soul was full of wounds. Also, the Origin of Magic could not repair his soul as fast now.
If it were any other time, Lucien would've passed out, because the pain surpassed what his body and his soul could bear. However, his mind and his soul seemed separated right now. There was no sign that he was falling into a coma.
Lucien knew that the pain would be gone if his mind returned to his body, but the ritual would also fail if so.
Having no time to recall his life experiences or curse fate, Lucien had only one thought in his head, which was to persist, persist and persist!
At some point, the unimaginable pain gradually weakened, and the 'resistance' of his cognitive world was gentler and gentler. Although his soul was riddled with holes, it was still powered by the Origin of Magic.
Lucien was about to heave a sigh in relief, when unpredictable colors that did not belong to this world glittered. The spirit library that had accompanied him since his rebirth appeared!
Inside the spirit library, all the books were unsealed. Then, the library was smaller and smaller as if Lucien were flying higher and higher, until it was replaced by a beautiful, dreamy planet that was covered with a blue ocean.
Is it Earth?
Lucien had complicated feelings.
Earth was also smaller and smaller as Lucien flew higher. The sun, the eight planets and poor Pluto were connected into a line like a picture.
Is it the solar system?
Lucien's feeling of looking down at everything did not stop. Even the solar system was reduced in size. Countless stars gathered into a surging river.
"Don't dwell in the illusion. Navigate the power into the cognitive world in your soul." Fernando's strict voice echoed next to Lucien's ears. They couldn't detect the changes inside Lucien's soul, but they could infer Lucien's phase from his apparent behavior.
Illusion? Is it an illusion?
Lucien was very confused, but he directed the overwhelming power of the Origin of Magic into his soul without delay, towards the struggling cognitive world.
The humming stopped, and a terrifying energy storm was raised in his cognitive world. The magic models such as 'Atomic Fission', being irrigated by them, shined one symbol after another and melded with the soul, like the magic models from the first circle to the ninth circle!
Boom!
In the soundless explosion, 'Atomic Fission' was quickly constructed without any additional control. That was the 'privilege' of a grand arcanist who had a legendary class and a fundamental spell!
The energy continued surging, but the shimmer of 'Eternal Blaze' already made his soul about to explode. Then, it fell quiet and showed no more reaction.
Even though it was a basic legendary spell, Lucien needed to be level-three legendary in order to construct it, or his soul would not be able to bear it!
The energy was still flowing. The complicated signals of the legendary class, 'Atom Controller', glowed with the 'Atomic Fission' at the center, until they were gathered and unleashed unimaginable spiritual power, repairing and improving his soul.
Lucien sensed the rapid growth of his soul. It turned from weak to succulent and was even about to explode.
Without panicking, Lucien gathered the energy storm and his spiritual power and released them to the void outside!
Tides rumbled, creating a tiny demiplane in the void before him.
The demiplane quickly expanded, absorbing the materials from the advancement ritual of 'Atom Controller' while changing according to Lucien's cognitive world. This was a boundless space where every star was made of two parts in different colors and surrounded by a certain number of illusionary 'planets'. They seemed to be everywhere, but when one observed more carefully, they would be only in one spot.
Among them, the planet that represented iron was larger and larger, turning into the place where Lucien's magic tower would be located. 
The demiplane shivered and gradually stabilized. A space node was directly connected to Lucien's soul, so that he could jump to his own demiplane wherever he was as long as nothing was interrupting teleportation. His life was much safer.
After the demiplane was completely steady, Lucien opened his eyes, only to discover that the illusionary sky of fate was gone, the materials in the advancement ritual were gone, and the materials for the ritual of Origin of Magic became ashes.
Sensing his influence on the real world and the terrifying strength, Lucien asked in delight:
"Is this the power of legendary?"
Fernando asked with a loud voice, "What's the name of your legendary class?"
"Atom Controller." Replied Lucien with a smile.
"The name of your demiplane?"
Approach Science[1]… Lucien almost blurted out. Holding back his amusement, he said, "The internal structure of atoms is somewhat similar to space. The microscopic world is like a fractal universe. So, it will be named as 'Atomic Universe'.
"An integration of the smallest and the largest. Good." Oliver praised him.
Douglas smiled, "You'd better be adapted to the changes of your soul and your spiritual power after you're back. The day after tomorrow, you will participate in the meeting of the Highest Council for the first time."
"Yes, Mr. President." Lucien was as respectful as before.
Fernando walked out together with Lucien and suggested solemnly, "You need to choose your legendary spells wisely. The level one of legendary can only support three legendary spells. The capacity will grow to six as your strength increases. So, you need to choose them appropriately with consideration of your needs in attack, defense, escape, control and all the other aspects."
"Master, I understand. I'll pick the legendary spells judiciously after I'm stabilized." Lucien nodded.
It was common sense for legendary sorcerers. As their level advanced, they would be able to pick up more legendary spells, and their demiplane would be more complete. The level two of legendary supported ten legendary spells at most, and the level three, fifteen. For the top legendary experts like the president, they could wield twenty-one spells. Also, every advancement in level involved a better integration of the soul and the cognitive world and a strong solidification of the cognitive world.
Fernando nodded, "Keep your advancement a secret for now. Don't tell anybody except your queen. We won't tell it in the Highest Council, either. After all, the title of grand arcanist is enough for you to enjoy all the privileges. In such a case, the Church will be 'surprised' if they plot against you."
The Lord of the Undead was not invited partly because he was in the alternate dimension and partly because the Hand of Paleness was not very friendly to Lucien. It was for the sake of confidentiality.
......
Inside Babel…
Seated on the sofa lazily, Lucien turned on the magic radio and listened to the president's speech:
"…I admit that I was very confused about the nature of gravity, but the supreme being I referred to was the truth of the world and the law of the universe, which had nothing to do with gods…"
"…On the path of arcana, I have as many questions as any of you do. I am often lost, and I have to grit my teeth in my exploration and research. The only difference between you and me is that I have walked further than you for now, but it's possible that some of you will exceed me in the future. Therefore, I do not represent the truth of arcana; your logical, flawless deduction and observation, as well as your strict experiment data and results does. Only the arcana studies based on such things are of actual significance, and the other notions are still in the category of philosophy…"
"…The universe is so vast that we have to stumble forward in fear, but we will never give up…"
"…This time, Benedict III has shown his understanding and application of the magic from the ancient Magic Empire. It suggests that he is much more underdeveloped than we are, and that they are in the bloody, primitive phase. It means that we are on the correct path…"
Listening to the president's speech quietly, Lucien put on a smile.
(End of Volume VI)
[1] It's a popular TV program in China that introduces science


"A falling star has brought the chaos. The throne of fate has lost its master. The nonbeliever who walks in light and darkness will make his debut."
In this magic world, knowledge is power.

He found that he did not understand enough the drone cluster that he had built. All this while, he was treating them as only an intelligence source and a convenient detection network, little did he expect this guy also had its own 'life,' a particularly stunning 'life.' Let's think about it: a drone AI, tasked with the mission of expanding and multiplying itself in the universe, had gotten the hobby of watching 'documentary works' of drone rebellion that humans had made. While watching these AI rampage footage, it calmly kept producing new AI workers. Merely thinking about that would send a chill down Hao Ren's spine. The reality was indeed more bizarre than the novels, at least novels there was still logic in the novels.
Besides, he was even more interested in the 'forum' the drone AI mentioned.
"It is the interactive platform for the drones," the huge blue holographic face put on a weird smile. "It is fun."
"The interactive platform of the drones?" Hao Ren felt that something was wrong. He pointed to the small flying objects around him. "You and them? You should be a collective consciousness, how could it be that you need a thing like a forum—"
"No, it is between different clusters," the blue face interrupted him. "The empire has hundreds of millions of drone cluster. Inspectors built them; the empire launched them. There are also workgroups split from large drone clusters. Though we were performing our duties in far-reaching places separately, we are connected through the data network, we have an extraordinary 'distance concept' between each other, so the drone clusters live in a lively community on the platform," the AI face said.
While saying, more images began to appear on the walls in the machine chamber. Those were the news from other drone clusters that may be performing missions in millions of other worlds. It could also be some service unit in of some divine factory, each of which had an astounding scale. The drone cluster that Hao Ren had built was just a child compared to the ancient races. This information traveled on the data network and was refreshed continuously in a speed unmatched by any internet speed of the mortal civilization. Hao Ren had only managed to see a tiny fraction of the information, but these fragments were enough to dazzle him.
"I have never seen these things before," Hao Ren said, a bit stunned. "Is that a new network structure? You are already a collective consciousness, a unified intelligence formed by a massive number of individuals, and these many collective consciousnesses gathered together to form a network, that network—"
"Yes, it is also intelligent," said the blue face faintly. "But it is huge and chaotic and indescribable. It is an intelligence model beyond experience, by the limitations of definition methods of many common races, you may not even think that it is capable of thinking, but it is a super-intelligence. It operates deep in the data network of the drone clusters and is responsible for providing additional computing power and analysis support for the Imperial Data Network."
Hao Ren could not wrap his brain around how could a super AI formed by the dual collective consciousness was even a kind of existence. But he could imagine how powerful this is, primarily when it was in charge of hundreds of millions of drones. And each drone cluster had tens of thousands or even hundreds of millions of individuals. Lily was astounded thinking about it. "Luckily, it's not a disaster movie."
"It seems that we have to wait here for a day or two," Hao Ren said, turning around and looking at his teammates behind him. "I'm going to stay in the Nest. Do you all want to join me?" he asked.
Lily shook her ears. "Forget it. I'm going back to the spaceship. People who are as imaginative as me would get a nightmare staring at this place," she said.
Rollie came up and ground her head against Hao Ren's arm. "I'm with you, you have got a little-dried fish," she said.
Hao Ren pointed to Lil Pea dangling on his arm, Rollie's ears immediately drooped. "Forget it. I can't eat fish while she is here. I'm going back to the spacecraft."
After getting bullied long enough by Lil Pea, the cat already knew the drill.
No one was willing to stay. Even Vivian, who was fond of dark places, seemed to find it uncomfortable in this strange bug nest-like fort. Only Lil Pea, who knew nothing, clung on Hao Ren's arm right from the beginning. The little guy had no sense of the world. She thought that her dad-dee's arms were the safest place in the world, the Drone Nest had zero effect on her.
The rest of them followed the Wanderer and strolled the place for a while to quench their curiosity before returning to the spacecraft. Meanwhile, Hao Ren followed a Wanderer moving deeper into the Nest where there was a room specially built for him.
It was a dull, grayish white steel room, but was decorated according to human aesthetics as much as possible, so it was still a nice place to rest. Hao Ren walked into the room, and everything was familiar. He came to a large window and looked through it. There was a huge cave illuminated by pale-blue lights. The cave was filled with production facilities and various unknown mechanical equipment. Above the cave was a long and narrow opening through which new-born drones entered and exited, creating a stream of light.
Nearly half of those drones were weird, without carrying huge antennas or versatile robotic arms. Instead, there was a series of tubes or parallel crystal rail structures mounted on either side of the body.
"This is the production center of outposts," Hao Ren said to himself. "Are you building more armed drones?"
"Yes, we are carrying out the special order you issued 235 hours ago. The production quota for armed drones has increased. Currently, the production of armed drones is 40%, and explorer model 30%, nest builders and various industrial models 30%. At the same time, we have begun to set up sentry guns at every node and main transportation route within the range of the drones. It is expected that all retrofits and add-ons will be completed within three month capital standard time. Subsequently, new nodes and flight paths will implement the new standard you have specified."
Hao Ren nodded. "Well, it is much safer," he said.
"There is more thing." The blue face had shrunk to fit the side of the room and floated behind Hao Ren. "After implementing the new standard, the speed of exploration will drop by 20%. The existing drones are already equipped with basic self-defense firepower, and the important nodes of the drone cluster also have sentry guns. You have ordered to double their firepower. Is that necessary?"
"You are a civilian model," Hao Ren said, looking back at the interface of the drone-cluster collective consciousness. The drone's collective consciousness was lack of facial animation, and it was pointless to him to communicate with it through facial expression. "It is not surprising for you to possess this way of thinking. But don't forget the test we have done."
"The conflict simulations with the Pattianne warship and the Guardian warships show that the ordinary drones are inferior," the drone's collective consciousness replied faintly.
"That's right because most drones are not adequately armed or even armed at all. There are only mining spears and welders. You are just a civilian model. All I could deploy are also civilian models, and they are the 'safest' types. The weapons that inspector uses is for peacekeeping, not for deterrent," Hao Ren crossed his arms and looked at the busy production factory outside the window. "It works in other universes, but not here. Peacekeeping alone is not enough," he said.
"Buddy, what do you think you're going to fight with?" the MDT floated up to him through the hologram of the drone-cluster consciousness. "You are building an army. Though it is for civilian security purposes according to the standard of those higher up, for most mortal civilizations, you are building a torrent of steel—a terrible one. You have never been such radical and heavy-handed."
"The mad First Born and the guardian that has turned into a brain monster—the two threats are enough to justify the upgrade. What's more, the Gate of Solenne has a treacherous living child. Though it has something to do with the special space-time state of the Gate of Solenne, it is enough to show that the genocidal judgment of the Goddess of Creation has a loophole, so there are more hidden dangers that we have known," Hao Ren said, shaking his head slightly. "At this stage, I'm merely upgrading the drone cluster's self-defense capability. It is my most important eye and ear. The last thing I want is to see someone destroy this net at a crucial moment. But in the future..."
Hao Ren paused and looked at his hand.
The dark-red lines spread on his palms, like ugly burns, though he did not feel any pain, whenever he clenched his fists, he felt a burning sensation. This burning sensation felt precisely the same as what he thought in the deicidal illusion. It was like the continuation of that illusion.
After having physical contact with the Gilded Disc, he had gotten much more information than he had imagined.


As a person who is down-to-earth as well as a good Samaritan, Hao Ren desires to live the rest of his life as a benevolent landlord. Stumbling into a curious yet mysterious lady, he began his journey of “collecting” abnormal and supernatural tenants. 
His life only became more chaotic when he receives a labor contract from “God”. Discover the many races, myths and worlds that lie beyond what humans define as normal! This bizzare fantasy full of fun is sure to bring you on a crazy rollercoaster of emotions!

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