The arrogance of the time traveler
This is an artistic octagonal brass lantern with soft light and exquisite workmanship. The surface is engraved with lifelike reliefs, depicting a story of a giant tree giving birth to fruits, the fruits falling to the ground and turning into humans, opening their eyes to explore the sky and the earth.
When the red-haired young man approached, the flowing light intertwined and formed a faint human figure in front of him.
"Nice to meet you, kid."
A neutral voice that was indistinguishable between male and female sounded, with a faint smile. The figure looked at the newcomer and spoke in a soothing tone.
"I haven't seen a young man as outstanding as you for a long time."
The dark golden pupils trembled slightly, and a vague guess came to his mind: "Are you the chairman of the parliament?"
"Yes." The other party replied. "Come with me, what would you like to drink?"
The light diffused, forming tables, chairs and tea cups in front of them. Tea that came from nowhere was poured into the cups, and its color was as clear as the blue sea.
"This is sea cucumber from the west. It grows in the deep sea a thousand meters below and is extremely difficult to pick. It can purify pollution and calm anger. It is very suitable for you to drink."
The meaning behind this sentence is a bit scary. Mason sat in the chair and said calmly: "You think differently than I do."
"A lot of people say that, but really, I'm no different than anyone else."
The Speaker of the Parliament smiled and sat down beside him. Mason originally thought that this person should be a cold, fair, and inhuman mysterious strongman, but the other party's attitude was so friendly that he couldn't help but feel relaxed.
"They say you're the strongest of men, the standard by which decisions are weighed. To be the head of the council means giving up everything, but you look... normal."
Yes, normal.
He is no longer a novice who has just come into contact with the world, and has learned a lot about blood.
Bloodline comes from pollution, and those with high bloodline will inevitably be affected by it. This is an irreversible and absolute trend. The higher the level, the easier it is to mutate. The figure who saw through his thoughts shook his head slightly, and his tone was soothing.
"I know what you're thinking, and that's what most people think, but not all."
"The essence of the black fog is pollution, and the essence of pollution is evolution. You should have known some secrets. The gods are the collection of human beliefs, and they are naturally incompatible with the black fog. When the two meet, one of them will die. They are the eliminated species."
"Elves, sirens, angels... these alien species also perished for similar reasons. In the crisis of evolution, only hybrids combined with humans survived. But the black mist is not the end, but the beginning. This world is still evolving, and a stronger, crazier, and more pollution-free existence has emerged."
Mason's heart moved, as if covered with a dark shadow: "Monster."
"Yes, monsters. They are the most suitable form for this world. We are just struggling to survive. The fate of this world has come to an end, and only destruction awaits us. Before this, humans have never stopped resisting. Everything is to seek a way to continue. This is the meaning of the establishment of the Noble Association."
The figure sighed softly. He held the teacup, as if mourning a past glory. This moment of silence did not last long. The surging light slowly gathered, and the chairman of the parliament suddenly asked: "Child, are you interested in being my successor?"
"As far as I know, you should have already chosen your successor."
"Aibo is indeed very good, but I think you are a more suitable candidate."
“If I agree, what do I need to do?”
If the future is really as hopeless as he said, what will it take to save it? If there is such a solution, why is it still ineffective now? The red-haired young man stared at the other party, not hiding the questioning in his eyes.
"I can't tell you the details yet. But I can tell you this: this is a path that will involve many sacrifices, and it is the path we have explored the most deeply so far. I can't promise that it will succeed, but it is the most likely to be achieved. And as its implementer, you can get everything you want during this period of time."
At this point, the Speaker of the Parliament joked: "But by then, I think you will be like me and not very interested in these things."
"I understand." The young man let out a long breath, as if he had made an important decision. "Sorry, I can't agree to your request."
The answer did not surprise the speaker, but he was still surprised by the unusual speed. The figure made a listening gesture and asked curiously, "Can I hear your reason? You don't look like someone who takes pride in saving others."
This is true. Mason said frankly, "I have heard of a difficult problem. A giant dragon out of control is about to land. There are two empty spaces in front of it. Ten people are standing in one empty space, and one person is standing in the other empty space. At this time, it is up to you to decide where the dragon will land. What will you choose?"
Undoubtedly, most people would choose the latter. Killing a few to keep the majority alive is a forgivable sacrifice. He could understand the Speaker's choice, but he could not agree with it.
Funny enough, what supports such a belief is not kindness and conscience, but arrogance.
I am favored, Mason thought. Compared to others, I have the World Tree as a golden finger and many powerful vests. As soon as I open my eyes, I stand at the top that ordinary people can't reach.
Since the world has given him so much, why can't he be a little greedy? Since he has such great power, why can't he use it to do what he wants?
If he had enough strength, he could stop the dragon in mid-air or save everyone before it fell.
He doesn't want to be a hero, but wants a happy ending where everyone is happy. Mason can't deny that he has some bad habits. This comes from the unconscious nature of a time traveler. It's rare that he doesn't hate himself at this moment.
Then the young man smiled softly, lowered his eyelashes, and his sharp golden pupils sparkled with undisguised arrogance.
"I want to be the protagonist of this world and let it be driven by my will."
This extremely frank and serious answer was tinged with a strange naivety and terrible arrogance.
"If there is no happy ending in this world, then I am willing to create this path. No matter how difficult and incredible it is, I will make it a reality."
What a surprising and even frightening arrogance this is. It is as if one regards oneself as the protagonist of destiny, and that disaster and glory are subordinate to oneself. Even gods dare not speak in an absolute manner!
The chairman of the council thought about many reasons, but he never expected to hear such an answer. He looked at the young man in front of him with extremely surprised eyes, as if he saw something incredible. After a long while, he let out a low sigh that sounded like a smile. For the first time, he treated this fearless challenger with an equal attitude.
"I understand. You are indeed not suited to this path. As a collaborator, I feel sorry, but as a human being, I feel happy. I wish you good luck, Mr. Oreius. On the other hand, I must remind you that it is best to reduce the use of your abilities."
"God's blood is naturally rejected by this era. Every use will inevitably lead to more serious pollution. Even if the goddess of fate tries her best to let some gods live to this era, they can no longer be called gods."
A chill crept up the young man's back, making him dare not ponder the meaning behind these words. Seeing the shock in his eyes, the Speaker of the Council said, "Your future will be found in the black mist. If you want to know more, you might as well ask the [Book of Answers]."
This was undoubtedly a way of saying goodbye. Mason stood up and thanked him sincerely: "Thank you, this is very helpful to me.
"Even if I don't tell you, you will know it sooner or later. Go ahead and don't let the people outside wait anxiously."
The light that formed his body scattered and poured into the octagonal lantern. Mason bathed in the dim light and walked deeper into the road.
At the end of the darkness stood a door. Through the door frame, one could see the fragmented space outside. As Shaken had said before, once one went too deep, one would be lost forever.
The guiding puppet appeared from nowhere, landed lightly in front of the young man, bowed to him, and led him into the door.
Mason followed closely behind it. Where the puppet walked, a transparent staircase was formed. The chaotic space was isolated outside, allowing humans to pass safely.
In front of another door, the puppet stopped and opened it for him.
What comes into view is a vast expanse of space. When people step into the door, the empty scene in front of them immediately changes.
Like pebbles rising from the water, countless shelves appeared out of thin air. On them were wooden boxes with silver chains used for sealing, which made even the church's sealing room pale in comparison.
Sensing the approach of living creatures, the seals began to vibrate in unison, but were bound in place by an invisible force and had no choice but to remain silent.
The lowest-level sealed objects here are all above Grade A. If they were placed outside, they would be enough to make people panic, but here they can be seen everywhere like cabbages.
The red-haired young man walked through the shelves and found the location of the S-level sealed objects. These sealed objects were labeled with names, prices, functions and origins, which was very considerate.
He quickly found what he needed on a shelf. Mason reached out and carefully opened the wooden box wrapped in layers of silver chains. Inside was a thick black leather book with a cover inlaid with gems and crystals. Someone had written a line of cursive words where the title of the book should have been.
[Nobility is evil, and ignorance is happiness. You can find the answer here, as long as you can afford the price.]
This book is a treasure of a kingdom in the era before the Black Mist, witnessing the rise and fall of the dynasty. When the place where this country is located was shrouded by the Black Mist, it changed. As long as you pay a price, you can get the inevitable true answer from its pages.
This should be a very powerful ability. The reason why it is S-rank is because the price of the [Book of Answers] is high and the answers are sometimes too vague.
But this does not diminish its precious value. After all, compared with other pollutants, the Book of Answers, which is proportional to its cost and has a wide range of applications, is already quite kind.
Following the instructions on the label, Mason placed his hand on the cover of the Answer Book and silently repeated the question three times. Many questions passed through his mind, and finally formed a question.
"What's in the black fog?"
Are those lucky ones who came to this era like the Mother of Ten Thousand Stones and did not die hiding in the black mist? What have they become now? Mason couldn't help but think of the five taboos, the No. 2 monster lord, the legendary monster that surpassed the SSS level. Is he a transformed god that has such great power?
In the midst of my chaotic thoughts, the heavy cover of the Book of Answers opened automatically, and the blank pages rustled. After a long wait, it finally stopped at a certain page. Ink seeped out from the pages, forming the same elegant handwriting as the cover.
"Ricks."
This answer left Mason confused for a moment.
What does this have to do with Rex? He rescued him personally and they have been together for so long. There is nothing suspicious about this bloodline person, but how can he be related to the existence in the black mist?
Just as he was surprised, blood-red marks appeared at the bottom of the page.
"Tell me your biggest secret."
Mason suddenly came back to his senses, and the corners of his mouth twitched as he looked at this line of words.
It's fair to exchange secrets for answers.
There were so many secrets that he couldn't even find the one that met the criteria. But now he was using the shell of Aurelius. The red-haired young man was silent for a while, then tried to speak.
As his voice rang out, black words appeared on the pages. After the human finished telling the secret, the S-class seal was silent for a while, the ink slowly faded, and the heavy pages closed again.
Mason heaved a sigh of relief and put his hand on the Book of Answers again. This time his question was, "How can I find more leaves of the World Tree?"
The sound of flipping pages began again, and Mason almost thought there would be no answer for a long time. Finally, the [Book of Answers] gave a more specific answer: "Some pollutants or monsters."
The price this time is: "Provide items related to the World Tree."
Mason tangled up a bit, plucked a strand of hair, and placed it on the Book of Answers.
The Book of Answers fell into a long silence, and the hair contamination was swallowed up. It closed its cover, silently announcing the end of this problem.
Mason observed carefully and found that the other party did accept the hair. He felt relieved immediately.
Oreius was transformed from the fruit of the world tree, so how could he not be considered a part of the world tree?
He turned away with a righteous look on his face, and after a while, he came back.
Although the [Book of Answers] is an S-rank sealed item, its status is extremely special. If the news of who possesses it spreads, it will definitely cause endless trouble. For the Noble Association, this pollutant is also a very important strategic material.
But there was an important question that he didn't dare to ask here. Mason, in a fit of rage, reached out his evil hand to the box and took it into his pocket.
The noble association that awarded the prize never imagined that anyone would choose it: even if the crown was there, would anyone really take the king's crown and scepter in full view of the public?
Mason did just that.
He turned around and found another sword from the seal.
S-level pollutant [Wisp], its appearance is a long sword with special texture, hard and sharp, with flame burning attack that is effective against spirits. The holder can control the will-o'-the-wisp of [Wisp] to a certain extent, and the more creatures killed, the stronger the power.
The side effect is that when enough creatures are killed, the [Wisp] will turn against its owner, turning the opponent into a controlled killing machine.
Mason fell in love with it the first time he saw it introduced. The long sword given by Ronald was destroyed in the Kingdom of God, and he urgently needed a new weapon. The side effects of this pollutant were equivalent to non-existent for Oreius, and it could also make up for some of the shortcomings of long-distance combat, so it was the best choice.
As the last A-level seal, he chose a string of pearls. It was a little too feminine for a man, but the effect was so good that Mason couldn't give it up.
This contaminant is called [Dark Gun], which comes from a betrayed assassin-type female bloodline. She wore this pearl bracelet and shot her fiancé into a pool of mud. The holder can give anything the characteristics of a "gun", making it fire a round of 32 special bullets, which is extremely difficult to be discovered.
Thirty-two rounds. This was the number of bullets the original owner fired.
The side effect is that they will have murderous intentions towards people around them who have betrayed them within a certain period of time. The more serious the betrayal, the more obvious the murderous intentions.
This kind of betrayal is not limited to feelings, but also includes career, friendship, and all behaviors that can be called betrayal. This is also the reason why it was shelved.
How could there be such innocent people in the Black Mist era? They struggled for survival, lied to stay alive, and especially the conflicts of interests between big families. Those who could come here and see this string of pearls were not short of similar offensive pollutants, and even more so, they were not short of falsehoods.
After a while, no one was interested in this obviously very strong pollutant. Mason thought it was nothing. A normal Oreius didn't care about this murderous intention, and he didn't care even more after he went crazy. To be on the safe side, he decided not to use this pollutant in Partington City for the time being.
Firstly, the Luo family is here, so there is no need for such brutal means; secondly, there are too many people in the city who are struggling for power and causing side effects.
Its best use is to use it after entering the black fog. If there is a traitor in the team, he can identify it immediately.
After getting all these things, Mason took a last look at the depths of the seal, from which came an extremely ominous and strange aura.
Going further in, he would find the out-of-control level pollutants being held. If he had the chance, he would definitely go in and take a look.
With the regretful feeling of wanting to pack up everything here, Mason turned around and left. The puppet that had been waiting outside the door took him back to the door he had left and watched the red-haired young man disappear through the door.
When the dark space returned to silence, a figure walked out from nowhere. He bowed slightly to the puppet and said respectfully, "Teacher."
The puppet stared at the empty space on the other side of the door and asked without turning back, "What do you think of him?"
"I don't understand your actions. He is dangerous and beyond our control. This world is fragile. We should not let these visitors from the stars act as they please."
The respondent showed a pair of emerald green eyes, which lost their usual gentleness and made people realize their abnormality. It was like a hard inorganic crystal that could reflect the outlines of other things, but without a trace of emotions belonging to himself.
The Speaker of the Council said, "I am attracted to you not only because of your status as a natural bloodline, Aibo. You are a smart child who can carry out your beliefs to the end, which is a necessary quality. You must remember that the path we take is not necessarily the right one. Whether it is the Noble Association, the Church, or even the Black Mist believers, their essence is the exploration of continuity. If he can bring good influence to mankind, we should not cut off his future."
Ai Bo was silent for a moment: "Even though his behavior will bring us trouble?"
"Yes."
The puppet reached out and stroked his hair, his voice gentle.
"Even though his behavior will cause us trouble."