章節 268: Citizen's POV (II)
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After the first trial, Chris did not stop practicing Transmutation. With the Empire's education, he understood the science behind them. Unfortunately, his talent for energy detection and control was abysmal. So, he wanted to make up for that with hard work.
For the next few hours, he drew countless Transmutation Circles on the floor while also reading books on the subject. By the time he finished, it was already 4 AM.
So, Chris went to take another shower before sleeping in his Virtual Network Cabin, which could put people into a deep sleep. Two hours of sleep inside was equal to more than 8 hours of normal sleep.
At 6 AM, Chris woke up and ate a healthy dinner. This time he chose Hawaiian breakfast, then dressed up in the typical black suit before heading to work.
As he walked into the always of his apartment complex, Chris encountered one of his neighbors and nodded his head to the young woman, who in turn saluted back.
The young woman looked at Chris' departing back and secretly shook her head. She knew that this strange neighbor of hers was infamous in the complex: he was known for being extremely cheap.
He essentially lived off the government. The apartment he lived in was the standard three-bedroom, one bathroom granted to all single citizens of the Empire.
Despite having a decent job as a Computer Programmer, this Chris never goes out to eat, never goes to any entertainment events, he never buys jewelry, and he has no girlfriend or children: Essentially, he never used his money on anything else.
Many people have commented that if we did not leave in a society of free housing, free food, free healthcare, and low-cost public transportation, they would wonder how someone like him would survive.
Chris–who was not aware of his neighbor's thought–walked steadily to his destination: the bus station. On his way, he would look in the sky with slight jealousy in his eyes, along with a deep longing.
In the air, cars, jets, and people could be seen flying. Each of these groups had a designated altitude at which they could fly in. People could only fly 30 meters to 60 meters in the sky, vars between 120 meters to 350 meters, and so on.
While Chris was observing the people flying, he discovered that one of them had flame boosters coming from their feet and hands.
'Is this the recently developed class, Bionic Arcanist?
He remembered reading the official debriefs regarding this new class. Essentially some people can replace their body parts with mechanical ones, turning themselves into cyborgs.
There are different levels of modifications. Some just replaced one or more parts of their bodies with metal ones. For example, some amputees preferred to have robotic arms: even many soldiers and Aura Master will willingly change some of their body parts with mechanical parts–especially ones made with magical ores.
Meanwhile, other Bionic Arcanist modified their entire body and have an Energy Core installed inside of them.
Some energy cores functioned with miniaturized nuclear fission and other forms, but the most expensive ones are made of mana. Additionally, there are different modules created for this subclass that grant Bionic Arcanists different abilities.
Some modules are designed specifically for modern weapons. This type of module used nanotechnology to allow different weapons to come out of the user's body.
Other modules focused on Magical Weapons, some modules focused on spells, some focused on increasing intelligence or computer processing, etc.
With this new subclass, countless companies with the sole purpose of designing modules were invented. one could say that an entire new industry was created.
And Chris once read that a new movement or idea is circulating with the concept that flesh and blood have limits, and only mechanical life can live and evolve forever.
Of course, he sneered at this idea. We live in a world where some powerful Aura Arcanists can use their flesh and blood to tank Nuclear Explosions. Just one search on Skynet and there are many such videos.
So, where does the superiority of mechanical life have over flesh and blood? The only advantage that Bionic Arcanists have over other classes is the fact that with enough money, any of them can reach Tier 3 in just a month or less.
However, to reach Tier 4 and higher, they have to either strengthen their souls to have certain control over the Energy Core inside their bodies, or they have to do an extensive transformation of their brains to increase their computing power.
However, the latest research is that doing this has severe consequences on the soul, and requires a lot of time, energy, and resources to ensure that nothing goes awry.
While deep in thought, Chris continued his walk towards his destination. As a generally quiet and reserved person, he liked to observe everything around him. And one of his favorite past times is to see the changes in the Empire over time.
As a person who was more than 40 years old when the Empire was first established, he knew how much things have changed in the past 4 decades.
Chris looked at an empty spot on the side of the road: this was one thing that has recently changed in the past five years. In that empty spot was a white, translucent rectangular barrier.
People could be seen suddenly appearing inside that barrier before leaving. And he knew that there were many of them across the city.
This was the designated [Apparition Area] that was recently established by the Empire. Arcanists with the right license can apparate anywhere they wished, but it has to be in the designated area.
Anyone who Apparates in any other place will be arrested or fined a certain amount, and that is only if it was possible. The Spatial Control Department monitor and control the space of each planet to not only prevent foreign intruders but also to prevent any spatial disturbance or disasters.
After a long looked at the area, Chris promised himself that after becoming an Arcanist, he will place Apparition as one of the must-mastered spells. He then removed his eyes to observe other things.
He saw many people with cat ears and tails, fox ears and tails, and so on.
'I wonder if they are the real race or genetic modifications?'
In recent years, the population of the Empire has greatly increased after the Space Fleet conquered a small star system. And the main race of that system was a hybrid of humans and animals like the cat race, the fox race, and so on.
This race has magical capabilities that allow them to enhance its physical abilities and cast a few basic spells. However, this was not important. The main point is that their inclusion into the Empire has created a new trend where people genetically modify their bodies to resemble the cat race and fox race: it seems that people's unnatural obsession with catgirls has not vanished.
When this new technology was introduced, only the rich and powerful could afford it. However, not even 6 months later, a breakthrough was made that even ordinary people can afford it after saving for a few months.
So, now, it has become a fashion trend popular amongst both magical and non-magical people. Of course, there was still some backlash with many people calling this practice unnatural and unorthodox.
Chris knew that there were many people from the Old Era that could not keep up with the rapid change of the Empire. Their conservative ideas and mentality make it very difficult to accept how rapid life, technology, and many other things are changing.
Luckily, he was not one of them. The moment he witnessed the Dementor Invasion, Chris was prepared for the changes of the new world. Although he still had some conservative tendencies or preferences, he knew how to properly manage them.
While deep in thought, he soon arrived at his destination. Without hesitation, he paid the fee for the train and headed to his designated area.
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Next Chapter Title:
章節 269: Citizen's POV (III)
In front of Chris was a woman with a small animal. He looked at the animal who looked like a poodle, except with a horn and two small wings that appeared to be only decoration.
Chris secretly shook his head. He knew that this was a new magical animal discovered in another Star System that is currently called hornoodle. Its body naturally released a pheromone that can alleviate people's anxiety and depression.
Many people have been buying it recently, however, a single one was worth more than 5000 AC (Arcane Coins), and there were more expensive ones. For an economically reserved person like himself, he would never waste his money on something like that.
After entering the train, Chris entered his designated booth, which was a secluded one with only him inside. He tapped on the watch on his wrist–which was the only accessory he had–and a holographic screen appeared in front of him.
He was checking the local news to see whether anything had recently occurred. This has become his daily task, essentially becoming a habit. Soon, something caught Chris' attention: it was a video.
In the video, a man and a woman were arguing on a sidewalk. And with each passing second, the video showed that their arguments became heated. Then, they started to fight.
The man took one step back to launch himself forward. His step broke the floor, leaving a footprint as he rushed towards the woman. However, despite being sneaked attack, she responded with great reflexes.
They punched each other as their fists left shadows in the air. Additionally, slight exploding noise could be heard when they crashed together.
'These people's strengths are at least 3 tons,' thought Chris. However, he was not surprised. At the current time, Aura Training has become mandatory in the Empire.
Since [Aura] is one of the few extraordinary paths that only requires a body to begin, the training method has become available for free on the internet. Additionally, the Empire has created many incentives for ordinary citizens to encourage them to train. As long as a person meets a certain standard, they will receive rewards from the government.
Additionally, Aura Training has now become mandatory in all schools in the Empire and must start at a certain grade.
When this law was first published, Chris remembered that many people were against it. They argued that with such transcendent power, the majority of people will let power get to the head, which would in turn cause chaos and safety issues for the Empire in general.
However, the Arcane Emperor insisted and even gave a speech on how he envisioned the Empire to be one where everybody is extraordinary, where everybody has powers and abilities.
As for the safety issue, this is a problem for the Aurors to worry about, and so far, they have done a great job.
Truth be told, Chris agreed with the Emperor's choice since it benefitted people like him. However, he was also aware of the overall benefit of this law.
For example, if the Empire ever wanted to recruit soldiers, with this law, all the citizens will have some form of training. So, they can rapidly become real soldiers and elites. And in case of an invasion of the home planet, all citizens can take arms to fight.
In conclusion, all the citizens of the Empire are essentially reserved soldiers.
Chris continued watching the battle which only lasted about 3 minutes with no victor. The reason for that was that two Aurors apparated next to them and separated their battle with one binding spell. Then, one of them wrote the two of them a ticket.
According to the audio, this was the third public fight between these two. Another time and they will be sent to prison. Meanwhile, the second Auror used a Repairing Charm to fix all the potholes and destruction that the fight between these two had.
Finally, the video ended with people complaining about how the response time of the Aurors has become quicker. Previously, battles like this could last at least 5 minutes and more, and now, not even 3 minutes and someone came to stop it.
During the entire train ride, Chris was on the web, either reading articles about Gate Alchemy, reading the news, or chatting with a few friends. His job was located in South Africa, however, in the current Pangea Continent, it will only take him a little less than two hours to get there from the Philippines.
So, he arrived at 8 AM, one hour before work began.
While walking to the main building, Chris saw one of his coworkers named Abu, and the two knew each other. Although not close, they still talked or say hello to one another.
"Did you take the train again?"
"Yes."
"You know, the company just paid a great price to install a Warp Gate less than a dozen meters from here. Why not use it? It is instant and does not waste any time."
"Too expensive," replied Chris.
"You can get a company discount."
However, Chris shook his head, and Abu no longer said anything as he knew that his coworker was like this. Almost everybody in the building knew that Chris was a man who does not like to spend money.
As for Chris, he did not care despite knowing that people called him cheap behind his back.
"I heard a rumor regarding public transportations," said Abu to change the subject.
"What rumor?"
"The rumor is that every form of public transportation has a Tier 3 Arcanist or more capable of using Mass Teleportation Spell. Their purpose is to teleport all the passengers away in case of any accidents or danger."
"Hmm, that would make sense. If a plane, train, or public spaceship malfunctions or was attacked by some terrorists or foreign invaders, it's a good idea to have someone capable of taking everybody away.
"So, the rumors most likely are true. However, I do wonder why not make this knowledge public."
"Who knows. Maybe to protect the Arcanist so not to be targeted by anyone with ulterior motives."
The two then briefly chatted before entering the building. Immediately, Chris felt his mind being extremely refreshed; his thought process, logical abilities, and even communication skill seemed to be elevated.
Chris was not surprised as he was used to this feeling. The entire building is enchanted to increase the productivity of all the employees. And as their company is quite famous and powerful in the Empire, this was only the most basic enchantment in the entire building.
"Chris, go ahead, I'm going to meet someone." Right after saying this, Abu disappeared from sight. Chris just nodded before taking his badge and activating it, and just like Abu, he also disappeared.
One of the enchantments of this building allowed the employees to teleport to different parts of the building. This was put in place to facilitate easy movement, and also increase productivity.
Chris headed to the Cafeteria to eat a second breakfast. He always ate there because the food was not only more delicious but also contained more mana and life force.
The person serving the food was not a golem, but an old Chinese man. This man was an excellent cook, however, he seemed very stubborn when it come to certain things.
For example, he only spoke Mandarin. In the Empire, the language barrier is long gone. With the existing technology, a person can learn the most difficult language like Cantonese or Ancient Egyptian in just a week or more through Neural or Soul Link in Skynet, having memory and experience of the language directly transferred in the mind.
Or, someone can just buy a Language Potion to instantly learn any language.
However, the cook refused to speak any language besides his mother tongue, and that includes the Arcane Tongue which has been the official language of the Empire for the past few decades.
Chris quickly ate his food before going to one of the company's training rooms. With the blessing of the Wisdom Blessing Enchantment and the food rich in mana and life force, he was able to create a lot more [Aura] than his typical training at home.
Then, he teleported to the Main Office for the morning debriefing with his manager.
(AN: The next chapter is the end of this POV and will return to Edward. One person gave me the suggestion to write from an ordinary person's POV. If you guys have some ideas or things you would like to see me write, message me and I will consider whether to do it or not.)
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