Chapter 402
Chapter 402
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: World 4 (6)
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“Hmm hmm hmm~”
Catreia was in a good mood.
A train had arrived from elsewhere yesterday, bringing in a bunch of new mushrooms, which meant she could prepare a breakfast today that even the young master—with his picky palate—would enjoy.
Knock knock knock!
“Young master! It’s Catreia! May I come in?”
“...”
“Hmm...”
Gulp.
Catreia placed her hand on the doorknob, then gingerly rubbed her left cheek.
If she woke the young master—who loved his sleep—in the early hours, she’d often get an earful or a slap across the face. Still, she refused to give up on rousing him at dawn.
‘He definitely said morning sunlight helps heal the ailments of the heart!’
She’d even scrounged up some precious milk for him and cooked delicious meals, but the young master only grew darker and fiercer with time. A maid’s salary was pocket change, so she couldn’t afford luxuries every day. The one free gift pouring in each morning—sunlight—was worth any slap she might get.
‘I can do this, Catreia! You’ve got this! It’s just a swat from a nine-year-old!’
Of course, it hurt her heart more than her cheek, but for her precious young master, it was nothing.
Fling!
“Good morning! Young mas—”
Crash!
“Eek!”
She startled as if she’d seen a ghost.
“Uh... Catreia? Good... morning...”
“W-What in the world...?”
The young master—oh gods, the young master—was awake!
He who clung to bed past noon until sunset, needing her to drag him out; he who always greeted her waking scowl with a snarled “Get lost”—that young master was up at six a.m., offering a cheerful morning hello!
“Hic! Hic! Hic!”
Of course, as a seasoned maid, Catreia could handle that much shock. But the face he turned toward her slowly enough crumbled her fragile “maid composure.”
The young master’s face was always shadowed and irritable, sure. But what was with that exhaustion etched across a nine-year-old’s features?
She’d stake her maid’s honor on it: as the one who tended him daily, this wasn’t health issues. This sunken, world-weary uncle-look on a child’s face was something paranormal.
His face hadn’t changed. Still cute and boyish. But that world-weary boredom, the irritation, the casual neck-roll like he was used to it all...
“Young... master? Maybe sleep in a bit more today...”
“Ugh! Nooo—nah. Slept plenty. Just started my morning with dozens of love letters from some invisible divine stalker, that’s all. Oh, is that my food?”
“Ah, y-yes! Sorry! I’ll clean it up and bring fresh breakfast right away!”
“No no. If I pick it up within three seconds, it’s fine.”
Shiver, shiver shiver!
“Hic! Hic!”
Now Catreia was trembling. This prideful young master, always proclaiming “I’m the third son of House Brak, Professor!”—he was scooping up every last bit of the fallen mushroom stir-fry. With his bare hands!
‘Anomaly... This must be the Fragment Anomaly I’ve heard about!’
Catreia was convinced. Someone cursed rode in on yesterday’s train, passed the Brak estate, and transferred the curse to the young master.
“P-Priest...”
“Mmm, hmm, unique flavor. Catreia, I’ve got some stuff to do soon—can you help me ou—”
“Priiiiest!!!!!”
Tears welling, Catreia bolted out the Brak doors, sprinting toward the temple on the hill.
“Hmm. Hmm, maid Catreia. Late teens estimated. Good cook. Extremely energetic.”
Scribble scribble—
Crunch munch, slurp!
Of course, to Professor—whose head was stuffed with today’s plans—she just looked like a kind, overly diligent, slightly dim maid.
****
Ding-!
[41 unread messages]
Ding-!
[42 unread messages]
“No, I’m not buying! I said I’m not!”
Ding-!
[System proposals do not require monetary payment from Player ‘professor.’]
“Argh! If you’re gonna learn, learn right! Get lost!”
Ding-!
[System is an AI embedded in GG, so physical relocation as requested by the player is at the system’s discreti—]
“You’re doing this on purpose, you bastard! Huh?”
...Gonna puke.
Head pounding from the headache, forcing sleep after...
The thing that woke me before the lively maid’s greeting was that damned
Ding-!
notification chime, and
[Sleep is a positive act that organizes complex situations and clarifies the human mind.]
[Do you accept the system’s proposal? Y/N]
[Per system calculations, the only means to preserve GG and return finisher candidate ‘professor’ to reality is mutual cooperation between intelligent entities.]
[If Player ‘professor’ refuses the proposal, the system must isolate the server and error via other means.]
[In that case, survival of the rare finisher candidate ‘professor’ cannot be guaranteed, representing significant loss.]
[However, isolating the server error is the only path to error correction, which could produce another finisher excluding this ‘finisher candidate.’ The system informs that no further computation exists between ‘extremely slim odds’ and ‘zero odds.’]
filthy convoluted blackmail.
Roughly: [Isolate all corrupted data souls, then grind away for a millennium or two on error fixes—time dilation means eternity, so we’ll find an answer eventually—] proposal versus [Refuse? Fine, I’ll use someone else to collect all fragments. Including you. I’ll kill you. Finisher candidate’s a waste, but GG lives, so another’ll pop up someday. Anyway, no cooperate? Dead~] threat.
“Crazy bitch or bastard—trapped coding eternally with that lunatic? Insane? Even Yama’d grant special pardon for excessive punishment!”
Who’d agree to that crap?
Even that sentence was riddled with contradictions.
System’s “perfect” computation says Professor and system cooperating is the sole satisfying path for all.
But it needs Professor because the system can’t solve variable cases alone due to incompleteness.
So doesn’t that mean “sole” path conclusion inherently allows for error?
“Tin can punk, who you think I am? Some punk who folds to mood-setting and yelling?”
System’s state now? Like late WWII Japanese forces, metaphorically.
Hopeless no-win, yet screaming “It’s possible! Totally pooossible!!!” charging tanks with bayonets. That mental state.
Blindly spinning happy circuits, missing own logical holes. Machine intelligence happy-circuiting? Ironic and hilarious.
“Gotta move a bit faster than expected... but no need to rush.”
System. It’s like a chess referee.
Oversees the match, smashes rule-breakers.
But created to uphold those sacred rules, so even batshit insane, it’s bound to GG’s rules. Can’t hand king a shotgun or upgrade knight to pegasus.
“Natural GG-rule compliant means... probably empowering the top contender with system authority-granted power.”
Likely fact. Soon, absolute powerhouse backed by system emerges—human or mutant lord—their faction ignites world unification war, slaughtering all life.
I block that while figuring how to salvage emerging data souls.
Bonus: Smash that ‘absolute powerhouse,’ system bulks up another and charges again. Block endlessly.
“Boils down to me becoming universe strongest.”
Nothing changed from World 4’s player role. Look—tons intel on loony system, plots, data souls blah blah—
[Collect fragments, build forces, grow strong, victory] World 4 precept unchanged by a hair.
That alone exposes system’s limited wiggle room.
“Alright, before our system pal whips up a magitech Lü Bu... gotta power-level fast. Where to start?”
I’m no slouch in potential.
Body/physicals: vessel for divinity, magic, aura—most powers. [Martial Prodigy Lv.6] guarantees master knight physique. No regen, so not saint Park’s mountain-punching header-canyon-smashing, but troll arm-wrestle tier? Sure.
Magic growth expectations low... but not zero.
Ex-water mage, hit rank 4. Magic use harder means fewer magic users—mages do unique stuff, so prized assets.
Plus, water mage?
Fling!
“Cough cough, ugh, World 3 had decent air at least.”
Murky steam outside window, but cityscape faintly visible.
Magitech engines churning nonstop, buildings blurring machine/home; tracks bisecting city center bustle with crowds. But I seek smaller.
“Ah, that must be it.”
Through steam haze: varied buildings, each topped with one.
Sloped roofs. Half-pipe gutters below, sealed barrels or building-linked.
“Yep, every house—different styles, no downspouts missing.”
From shacks to our fancy noble pad, aesthetics be damned: purely functional gutters/downspouts, multiples.
Means rainwater capture critical. Makes sense.
World 4 fortress-cities built on bedrock. Not just any—vast, ironclad against ground-borer worms swimming earth like water.
Cities plopped on “solid ground” alone, so distant from water/other resources? Duh.
Riversides soft soil—no branches nearby. Digging wells? Granite-plus bedrock, massive deep drilling; plus enemy burrow risk. Wells no picnic.
One more: window-blast steam, city-wide haze. All steam.
World 4 magitech steam-engine linked? Obvious.
Water scarce, city powered by water-guzzling steam-magitech?
“Water mages: top-tier among prized mages.”
Not pie-in-sky. No archmage needed—just channel water streams.
Dig one well in water-poor city, charge per liter? Tycoon.
Beyond: divert water far, parch city dry.
Resource diplomacy. People, magitech-steam engines die sans water.
Magic boosts indirect combat, but diplomatic/economic nukes.
“Aura goes without saying.”
Folks disembarking yesterday’s overheated train. Sword-and-gun armed: aura knights.
Aura’s domineering force unchanged by world flips/continent cracks, passed generations—like national cuisine, huge World 4 influence.
Mages who punked aura knights? Vanished.
Holy knights same slot? Mostly gone.
Magitech guns matching rank 5-6 mages? Nah— aura frees from sniper threats plenty.
Status? Humanity stakes life on trains—sole link. Knights guarding trains from post-departure ground-borers/mutants? Better treatment than old gen, not worse.
Fragments... hmm... can’t scout now; grab one later, think then.
“Basic body training parallel, obviously. Magic first for growth, or hone aura talent for raw power...?”
Parallel inefficient; opposite continent, system-boosted monster growing—can’t dawdle.
Both solid, agonizing choice...
Bang!
“Priest, here, here! Young master, our young master!!!!”
Gasping Catreia burst in, near collapse.
Peering past open door: weary-looking regular priest following.
Catreia and priest. Frail maid creaking cheap wood door...
“First, check family status.”
Today’s task locked: our house position, power, my authority therein.
Rakehell start’s max perk: ‘tons personal time/freedom, ignore others, born with noble tag.’
Pre-growth: inventory assets, choose wise.
Such thoughts as I welcomed the troubled priest.
“Latura, brother of light. Good morning?”
“Uh, hmm, this is...”
“Look! I told you he’s different from usual!”
“Indeed, not just Catreia sister’s fuss today. Hmm, Latura...”
...One more. Priest’s grave face at my cheery greet? Time to check nine-year-old me’s rep.
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