Chapter 844: Arriving in the Future

Arriving in the future…

It was a brand-new phrase, one never heard elsewhere.

They said that in Cecile, almost every day brought fresh new terms sprouting up from all sorts of fields. These words described the rapidly evolving magecraft technology and the ever-changing social order of Cecile. Proud Cecile citizens took great pride in mastering and using these new terms—it had even become a kind of status symbol, a way for many to mark themselves as “respectable.”

Yuri had once been puzzled when overhearing such chatter. But now, standing before this impressive facility and picturing the scene that Gawain had described, he suddenly understood.

This was indeed a magnificent creation—one anyone could proudly, even blindly proudly, boast about.

What made the situation somewhat ironic for the Eversleeping Archbishops present was that the technology behind this marvel actually originated from their own Eversleeping Order. For centuries, they had held this era-defining technology in their hands, yet never once had they thought like Gawain Cecile. They had carefully hidden it away, burying it deep underground along with their “grand plan.” They regarded this technology as a “forbidden weapon” meant to challenge the gods—a weapon that had to remain rare, secret, precious, and strictly separated from “ordinary people.”

Gawain looked at the silent archbishops, knowing exactly what they were thinking.

Their courage to challenge the gods was commendable, but their lone-heroic mindset—saving the world single-handedly—had limited their vision. Like nearly all the extraordinary beings of this era, they had never considered, nor believed in, collective power. Naturally, they had no concept of a state apparatus, let alone total war.

“We spent centuries going in circles, burying ourselves underground until our minds went stale,” Magnus muttered loudly enough for everyone to hear. “Hundreds of years…”

“Those centuries were not wasted,” Gawain shook his head. “You laid the technical foundation—no one can deny that. The hardest part of any technology is its inception. Fortunately, you completed that.”

“I have a question,” Wendy, who had remained silent until now, suddenly broke the quiet. “Your Majesty, according to your plan, do you intend to cover the entire empire with similar computing centers, allowing ordinary people to connect to the network through those devices called ‘immersion pods’?”

Gawain nodded. “Of course.”

“Will ordinary people be willing to do that? To contribute their brainpower… even if it’s just redundant computing power, most will be skeptical. After all, this means connecting themselves to a mysterious and powerful ‘magic.’ Most people rarely have any contact with magic in their entire lives…”

“I’m glad to see an Eversleeping cleric finally thinking from the perspective of ordinary people,” Gawain interrupted Wendy, “but first, let me correct you—here in Cecile, ‘ordinary people’ have much easier access to magic than you imagine. Secondly, after initial doubts, the public will quickly embrace this technology. Eventually, we may even have to impose restrictions on immersion pod usage to prevent it from disrupting the real economy.”

As Gawain spoke, he waved toward a nearby figure. Yuri and the others, full of questions, were about to ask when a cheerful voice with a metallic tremor suddenly floated over: “Here I am—Your Majesty! I just finished calibrating the power spine in the west sector!”

With that, a large silver-white metallic sphere adorned with a whimsical smiling face swiftly floated before Gawain. Its gleaming surface reflected the astonished faces around it. Magnus instinctively gasped, “By my ancestors… what is that thing?!”

Before Gawain could answer, Nicholas—the “Egg” as they called him—twisted his spherical form and flew up to Magnus. From the metallic orb came a curious, vibrating voice: “Ah, bearings and gears! What is this contraption?”

He zipped around Magnus twice, who was already overwhelmed, his psychological projection flickering dimly as if about to vanish. Even Selena nearby was affected. Nicholas marveled as he flew: “Strange, immaterial, an interwoven energy being, mixed with subtle magnetic fields that interfere with carbon-based neural signals. It has no fixed form but constantly calibrates its boundaries and features through energy interactions… somewhat like a Kamail, but more ambiguous… Ah, levers and pistons! This thing even shows emotional responses!”

Magnus’s eyes nearly popped out as he dodged the invisible anti-magic field around Nicholas, shouting, “What on earth is this terrifying sphere saying?!”

“Nicholas, this is a guest,” Gawain finally realized and hurriedly called off the orb’s strange antics. Once Nicholas returned, Gawain couldn’t help but ask, “You see it as a formless energy being?”

“Correction: I’m not ‘seeing’ with eyes, but… well, let’s just call it eyes for simplicity,” Nicholas replied casually. “As for energy being… strictly speaking, I sense it as some kind of interwoven ‘field.’ I know those concepts are easily confused, but they’re not the same…”

Gawain quickly grasped what had just happened and realized he’d overlooked a key point: although Nicholas was an intelligent being capable of normal human communication and emotions, he was still an alien life form with a very strange biology. When confronted with things humans perceive as normal, Nicholas might perceive something entirely different.

This was a perfect example. Magnus and Selena had become spiritual entities living within the mental network. Their appearances before ordinary people were purely “psychological projections,” illusions created by disturbing the observer’s senses to simulate their presence. Nicholas, however, had no nervous system—at least, not like humans.

He could still sense Magnus and Selena’s presence, but what he “saw” was a vast, interwoven, fluctuating yet orderly “field” of energy.

This was an important phenomenon, potentially useful for future research—perhaps for deeper analysis of magical power?

Gawain shook his head slightly, setting aside the sudden research idea. He briefly introduced the Eversleeping clerics present, then pointed to Nicholas and said to Yuri and the others, “This is the Empire’s Master Artisan, Nicholas. You’ll be working with him often.”

“When you’re not familiar with me, please use my full title: Saint Nicholas the Egg,” the silver sphere hovered twice in the air, speaking with a proud yet reserved tone. “And you should show me some respect—Master Artisan is a very prestigious position.”

Magnus eyed the metallic orb warily, silently thinking that this land ruled by otherworldly wanderers was indeed full of terrifying and bizarre things. Still, he wisely kept those thoughts to himself.

After observing for a couple of seconds, he decided to greet the orb properly, hoping to build rapport and reduce future risks during their collaboration. “Nice to meet you, Nicholas the Egg… sir, or, um, ma’am? Sorry, are you a male sphere or a female sphere?”

Gawain shot Magnus a deep, knowing look.

Yuri once again failed to stop his old partner from speaking so freely.

In truth, he didn’t really want to stop him, and neither did the others—the archbishops shared a subtle understanding on this. Having worked together for years, they knew each other’s temperaments well. Often, they welcomed Magnus speaking up because the loud, straightforward former war god priest could say what others wanted to but dared not. This way, only Magnus risked offending others, while the rest gained valuable information.

Undoubtedly, this was a good thing.

“You should call me ‘sir’!” Nicholas’s buzzing voice immediately rose in pitch. Magnus had offended him again—or rather, the sphere. The others got their answer smoothly. “Damn it, don’t you have eyes? I have very clear gender characteristics…”

Even Gawain fell silent. He felt this topic was getting too weird to continue.

“Let’s pause here—you’ll have plenty of time to get acquainted later,” he said firmly, instantly quieting everyone. “Let’s get back to business. Nicholas, which rooms are available now?”

“Available rooms? The computing facilities on the second floor are ready; the third floor still needs adjustments.”

Gawain nodded, relieved to be back on track. “Take us to the second floor. Prepare an immersion pod and activate demonstration sample number two.”

“Wait a moment.”

Nicholas said simply, then drifted slightly aside. Using an invisible magnetic field, he activated a nearby device. With a faint hum, a crescent-shaped elevator platform descended near the mental hub.

Gawain led the way onto the platform, followed by the others.

The pyramid-shaped facility was not yet fully completed; many areas were still being finalized. But some rooms had been handed over and were operational for equipment testing. Under Nicholas’s guidance, the group entered the second floor and walked down a short corridor until they reached a clean, well-lit room.

In the spacious center stood a cylindrical alloy pillar. Around it, a dozen silver-white immersion pods were neatly arranged. Rune-inscribed drag chains and artificial nerve-like conduits connected the pods to the central pillar. Yuri and the others once again sensed magical fluctuations similar to those from the mental hub in the main hall.

As Gawain had said, every thought-connection device in this facility linked back to that massive central pillar.

Gawain approached an immersion pod with its lid already open, glanced at the archbishops, and smiled. “Anyone want to try Cecile’s ‘mental network’?”

The archbishops exchanged glances. After a brief moment, Wendy stepped forward.

“Ladies first,” the beautiful woman smiled, moving beside the pod. “I’ve been interested in Cecile’s ‘magecraft technology’ for a long time. How do I use it? Just lie down? Do I need to prepare any spells or incantations?”

“Just lie down. It’s designed for ordinary people, so no spells or incantations are needed,” Gawain replied casually. “The experience lasts only ten minutes—you won’t feel tired.”

Wendy nodded and, with Amber’s help, lay down inside the immersion pod. Under the watchful eyes of the other archbishops, the pod’s lid hissed softly as it sealed shut. Instantly, the runic chains connected to the device and the numerous runes on the pod’s base all lit up one by one.

Magnum’s eyes widened as he watched intently. Concerned about how things were unfolding, he couldn’t help but mutter, “At least in terms of comfort, this thing’s way better than ours…”

“You don’t have to worry about that now,” Yuri shot him a glance. “Unless you’re planning to crawl back into your own body.”

Magnum crossed his arms defiantly. “What if I do? What if I do?”

Apart from the two of them, almost no one else spoke. Everyone else was focused, waiting for Wendy to finish her “experience.” And they didn’t have to wait long.

Ten minutes later, the pod’s lid gently opened.

Wendy sat up, a trace of dazed confusion lingering on her face, as if she’d just come back online after a blackout. Her fellow cult members immediately gathered around her. But faced with the curious archbishops, her first reaction was to look at Gawain. “Can I watch a little longer? The story’s just getting started…”

Yuri’s curiosity got the better of him. “What did you see in there?”

“It’s an immersive theater,” Gawain answered before Wendy could speak. “But since it’s still in the testing phase, it can only replay short segments for now. Wendy, what you saw was all there is at the moment. But don’t worry—it’ll be perfected soon. And in the future, there will be even more captivating experiences inside, far beyond just immersive theater.”

He smiled faintly. “Now, tell me—do you think ordinary people would be willing to lie in here and contribute computing power?”

“Let me just confirm something first,” Wendy said quickly. “This device and what it shows don’t require a caster to maintain it constantly, right? It’s not like the Dream City, which drains the user’s mental energy all the time and risks mental contamination?”

Gawain nodded. “Of course not.”

“Then I have no doubts at all—” Wendy said eagerly. “If I were an ordinary person, I’d pay for this myself!”

(End of chapter)