บท 539: Time Guardian
Edward followed the group to the nearest city. He was in a daze throughout the journey, feeling a heavy weight lifted from his shoulder. Although finding the Savant Race did not guarantee he could deal with the Time Guardians, he felt much better just by knowing about his enemy.
After arriving at their destination, Luna separated from the group after compensating them and reuniting with Edward. The two began to visit this city, fact-checking much of the information Krovik provided them.
For example, the power limit of this world is Tier 4 for all creatures but Tier 6 for technology, and no one can break that limit.
"This place reminded me of Hermione's System Creation Research," said Luna, and Edward nodded. The Konosuba World is the perfect embodiment of System Creation Power. The way the world is established is there are certain rules; for example, after killing creatures, you receive points to use to increase magical abilities.
The Quantum Realm seems to be a very strict system, but the purpose of this system is still unknown.
"What's the plan? Do you want to head to the Enlightenment City immediately?"
"No, let's fix the floating city first," replied Edward. His first step was to buy a few Tier 6 ships or magical artifacts. The process was much harder than anticipated since this place was the domain of the Sun God Cult, which strictly controls all technology and powerhouses.
However, money can buy anything. This place uses barter and soul stone as a monetary system, so Edward gets what he wants after spending lavishly on the black market.
He dismantled these technologies and artifacts until he found the correct mana frequency that would properly allow his floating city to function. He did not take it with him but placed it in invincible mode.
Although there was little chance the Savant Race would be hostile to him, he needed to take precautions and not reveal this thing as of yet. The Savant Race had connections to countless plans in the material world, so he did not want to risk revealing the floating city's existence yet.
As such, he also did not bring it close to their territory. If they were in the material world, he was confident in the cloaking system of the city. Still, in this place, with a limit of Tier 6, his technological advantage was drastically reduced–especially before a race known for gathering knowledge of the entire Astral Realm.
So, Edward embarked on their territory after creating an artifact that allowed him to use the city's power from a long distance.
As the name implies, the Enlightenment City was an enormous city, but it was built on top of this giant mechanical spider-like construct with legs. There was an entrance, so Edward's ship headed in that direction. They soon discovered that the entrance required a test; they had to solve a puzzle, formula, or question before being granted access.
There were many questions from every category, from science to magic, to understanding of soul, and to countless other power systems.
'Interesting,' thought Edward before picking a question and answering, and Luna followed. The city was lively, full of different spaces, including certain creatures from the material world.
He also saw many members of the Savant Race, who wore loose black robes on their short bodies. They had massive heads and floated in the air instead of walking. They reminded Edward of the Watchers from Marvel, except they were much shorter.
After a short tour, they discovered this place was similar to the Myriad Codex Plane, with countless libraries scattered all over the city and the main one at the center. Edward had to solve countless questions to reach the central library, which required solving an unsolvable question before he could meet the higher-ups of the Savant Race.
Edward and Luna waited inside a room. According to the receptionist, he would meet the Grand Elder tomorrow morning. So, Edward waited until the next day when someone escorted him to a room with a large table.
Opposite them was a Savant Race dressed in gold and white, with wisdom shining on the latter's eyes.
"The name is Cori. How may I address you?"
"Edward Bones."
"I have to thank you for solving the Bloodline Sequence," said Great Elder Cori. "We have been studying the curse the Witch Plane placed on the Magus Race, and so far, our research has made little to no progress until you came."
"I'm glad I could help," nodded Edward.
"So, how are you finding this layer of the Quantum Realm? A very magical place, isn't it?"
"This layer? There are other layers?" asked Edward.
"Yes, this is only the first and most normal layer," the Great Elder nodded. "Once you go to the deeper levels, the things you can see are truly beyond any normal mind to comprehend."
"Are the other layers less restrictive?"
"That's correct. However, each of them has strange and sometimes baffling rules. If you have a chance to visit, you should be more careful."
"I see," nodded Edward as he figured out some things. For example, the Savant Race purposely chose to stay in this layer as a form of confrontation. In this place, even a Tier 11 powerhouse appeared; they cannot use power greater than Tier 4, and their technology cannot go higher than Tier 6.
Such a place is excellent for the Savant Race to base their kind and protect themselves from the greedy hands of all the other planes in the Astral Realm.
"So, what brings you here so far away?" asked Cori, his eyes seemed to contain all the truths of the universe.
"I need to know how to deal with the Time Guardians," said Edward directly.
"You've become a Time Criminal?"
"Yes."
"Well, you could stay here. I doubt they could do anything to you."
Edward shook his head; this solution was like running away to another plane.
"Do you know how the Time Guardians originated?"
"I don't know."
"In the beginning of the universe, Cronai created the Elder Gods, granting each of them certain authority at birth. Her purpose was to allow them to help her manage the universe as she stabilized the process of going from chaos to order.
"However, something unimaginable occurred; The Space Elder God created the first act of killing in the universe, eliminating the Time Elder God and taking its power."
Cori paused, giving Edward time to process this information.
"Cronai wanted to punish him, even kill him. However, the latter was a smart individual and a great talker. He convinced her that time needed to be preserved to prevent other lives from messing with the space-time continuum.
"He made an oath to guard the sanctity of the multiverse and all its timeline. At first, Cronai accepted his plea because she saw his position as guardian as a form of prison. However, as time passes and the universe is full of life, time criminals begin to appear, thus showing Cronai the need for the Guardians. After that, the Space Elder became more and more powerful until he encountered the Magus Race, who almost annihilated him."
'Is this why the Time Divine Spark was on Earth? From the time the Magus Race dealt with the Time Guardian?' thought Edward.
"As you can guess, he survived and waited until the Magus Race disappeared. Now, he's currently the strongest being in this plane."
"How strong is he?"
"Well, he's the only Tier 11 existence in this plane. Better yet, he's more powerful than ordinary Tier 11 since he has the authority to borrow Cronai's power."
Edward frowned as this news was the same as Cronai told him, even more detailed.
"So, how do I escape my fate as a Time Criminal?"
"You must survive the Time Game."
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บท 540: Time Game
Time Game?"
"Yes," nodded Cori. "The Space Elder God is ambitious yet capable. He knew that anyone who successfully broke the laws of the space-time continuum was talented or lucky in some way. So, he devised a method to use their knowledge for his own."
The great elder paused as he swirled the drink on his glass; it was probably wine, but the dark purple color was somewhat eerie.
"He created the Time Game to give these Time Criminals a way to escape imprisonment. Well, that's the official reason.
"To survive the game, any criminal only needs to defeat him by showing him an unknown or unique understanding of Time. You should be able to understand the implications behind such a method?"
Edward nodded; this approach was similar to how he created the Empire to use other individuals to help him gather magical knowledge.
"I have to say, you're unlucky. To be precise, all time criminals in this day and age are unlucky," continued the Great Elder. "In ancient times, it was much easier to survive the Time Game. But now, after billions of years of gathering the knowledge of Time Criminals, nothing can truly impress him anymore."
Edward frowned as he realized the problem's core. The Time Guardian has lived too long and has access to the Multiverse, allowing him to communicate with his variants.
After so long, this man should have mastered all the secrets and knowledge about Time Authority, making it almost impossible to impress. Even knowledge from other planes might be useless to him.
'My first instinct is to use Void Energy and its Space-Time Characteristics. However, there is a high chance that the Time Guardian also had access to Void Energy.'
The reason he concluded such a thing was due to how he first encountered Void Energy–the tear in space-time discovered in Rowena's timeline. After the Magus Race departed this universe, Edward did not doubt some Void Energy entered this world.
As someone who can navigate the Multiverse and has lived for so long, he should have experienced that era and gotten his paws in Void Energy.
'In that case, we need to change strategy,' thought Edward. 'He wants a unique understanding of Time? I can think of a few: the Time Stone in Marvel, Doctor Who's Tardis, the speed force from The Flash, and many others.'
Edward internally sneered, 'The Time Game is a perfect opportunity for me to get close to him. If I play my cards correctly, I can make him pay and use him for an experiment.'
Edward knew that as long as he could create a method to break the Soul Limit, he would reach Tier 10 quickly. His only concern is achieving Tier 11, which seems to be an even more difficult task.
A perfect example of the difficulty is this Space Elder God. Such a brilliant man who has mastered Time Rules to the pinnacle has not achieved Tier 11, showing it's not a simple feat. Let alone Edward, who plans to become the perfect Tier 11.
"So, are you confident?" asked Cori.
"Confident? No. But it's better than when I had no information to go from."
"It's good not to be overconfident. In the worst-case scenario, you can run away to other planes or this layer of the Quantum Realm. Although it will not guarantee safety, you can prolong your life."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Edward.
"He's not a simple man. He has countless powerful clones scattered all over the Astral Realm. So, even if you ran away to another plane, he would track your Soul Imprint and kill you.
"Your best chance without the game is to defeat him in the Quantum Realm, using the rules to your advantage. But even that is not a guaranteed plan."
Edward took a moment to digest the information. If he ran away to another plane, he would have to deal with countless Tier 10 clones of the Time Guardian.
'No, he doesn't have to use such a stupid method. He only needs to reveal my identity, and these top planes will hunt me down,' analyzed Edward. 'As for the Quantum Realm, it would be a battle of attrition and foundation.'
Battle in the first layer involves not strength but a faction's power due to the limitations and rules. For example, if Edward wanted to invade this place, sending people whose power maxed out at Tier 4 was not the best idea. The best way to fight would be to use ships or magical artifacts.
However, the Savant Race has been in this place for who knows how long, so the Empire could not compete with their arsenal of weapons. So, if he wanted to conquer this place, he would have to spend years manufacturing Tier 6 ships and sending them to attack his opponent, hoping to wipe them out slowly.
In other words, the situation would be the same for him if he chose to hide in the Quantum Realm. However, the Space Elder God is probably even more ancient than the Savant Race, so Edward could not fathom the resources available to him.
'In other words, if I don't want to move the entire Empire to another universe, I must win that Time Game,' summarized Edward.
"Thank you for your information."
"My pleasure."
"If you don't mind, I have some doubts," continued Edward.
"Ask away."
"Why do I feel you don't want to mention his name out loud?"
"Quite observant," nodded the great elder. "Some things are taboo, and his name is one of them."
"So, he will know once it is uttered?"
"Yes, especially for time criminals like you."
"Can it be written?"
"Yes," said Cori before writing something in the air: [Cosmus].
Edward took a moment to remember that name.
"Second question: why did you reveal this information so easily? You did not ask anything in return and easily offered this piece of information. Something tells me it's not because I solved your previous puzzle."
"You're correct in your observation," said Cori. "We are showing you kindness because you're also a member of the Akashic Record."
Edward frowned before relaxing. He guessed the Savant tried to research him on the record, but like him, they could not get any information since he was also a member.
"Is this truly the only reason?"
Cori did not immediately answer, sipping from his glass. "Have you heard of the concept of luck and destiny from the Heavenly Dao Plane?"
"I know a little."
Edward lied as he had only learned very little about that plane. However, he guessed the concept was similar to Qi Luck, which he had learned from reading novels in his past life.
"We have done research on this concept, so we can see many things. For example, you are a man blessed with great fortune or luck."
As Cori said this, his eyes could see a golden dragon above Edward's eyes with spots of purple.
"We can tell you're a man destined for great things–especially after seeing Cronai's blessing. Our race suffered tremendously at the hands of the Magus Race, and we do not want the same thing to happen again.
"So, after seeing your destiny, we made the unilateral decision to make friends, even invest in your future. Maybe we can achieve our dreams after associating with you."
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