Adjusting magic circuits was like performing surgery on someone in a severe car accident. Nol held his breath and concentrated, standing for a full five hours before finally fixing the circuit, which was as chaotic as a car accident scene. To ensure foolproof results, his adjustment was even more meticulous than when he treated Piel.
The General was tough, not moving at all from beginning to end.
When Nol straightened up, he could almost hear his spine groaning. The five-hour "magic circuit" surgery saw Nol using his magic power regardless of the cost, nearly depleting all of his mana. As expected, he would have to lean on Teest to get home.
But this caution brought ample rewards—
[You have thoroughly investigated the magic circuit details of existing creatures.]
[You have successfully reset the magic circuits of existing creatures.]
[The system has recorded and intelligently optimized the existing scheme.]
[You have created a new skill: Circuit Manipulation.]
...
[Circuit Manipulation: The Creator's unique authority, capable of freely adding, eliminating, and modifying the fixed magic circuits within a creature]
[Note: If the target circuit has been maliciously tampered with, it's necessary to designate a live sacrifice to neutralize the "error", with a strength comparable to the target.]
[※This authority exceeds system management permissions. Actual effects are based on practice.]
A long-unseen new skill.
Nol tiredly sat back in the armchair, feeling somewhat complex.
This was his first time creating a brand new skill without going through code deduction or skill synthesis. No, perhaps it shouldn't be called a "skill". The system referred to it as an "authority" from beginning to end.
This thing seemed even closer to the realm of "God".
Nol's gaze lingered on the "note" prompt for a while.
The "error" mentioned in the instructions likely referred to the destructive energy he had transferred earlier. The General's monster abilities weren't enough to neutralize this energy, and the residual part had to be personally dealt with by Teest.
Speaking of which, this "destructive power" really did resemble the Demon King's corruption. It was difficult to remove on its own. It was best to find a "container" to eliminate it altogether.
Nol pressed his temples. Authority was ultimately not a modifier. Using a live sacrifice was a bit troublesome, but it was fine as long as it worked—he could just create a bunch of active flesh puppets himself.
Using them, he should be able to completely reverse the effects brought by the Supplement Demon. Teest had no issues, and once back at the Lost Tower, he could talk to Little Piel about this…
Thinking this, Nol wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the General, who was slumped in the chair.
With ample time, he stripped away most of the monster-related circuits, leaving only a few harmless parts to repair the General's scarred human circuits.
The General would lose the unreasonable rapid regeneration that belonged to the monster part. From now on, she would only be a human with attributes significantly higher than normal and an especially outstanding healing ability.
Now, that healing ability was taking effect.
The General's uneven head gradually rounded, and her features returned to their places. Skin grew on her melting-like flesh, freckles appeared on her nose, and lion's mane-like golden-red fluffy hair sprouted from her scalp.
Her two prosthetic eyes rolled out on their own, and brown-red pupils grew back. The deformed monster's sharp teeth fell out one by one, and under the normal lips, human teeth resumed their place, with only the canines being somewhat exaggerated.
Her small, twisted body also gradually became robust, like an elderly person hunching over returning to youth, stretching out entirely.
A few minutes later, a tough-looking short-haired woman replaced the frightening monster.
The General slowly removed her gloves, looking at her palms wrapped in normal skin, then at the back of her hands and nails.
Then she rotated her eyeballs, her gaze sweeping over the sparkling wine under the light, the fresh flowers with dew in the vase, and finally resting on the ceiling adorned with reliefs.
Faced with a world she hadn't observed normally in hundreds of years, the brutal General's gaze was like that of a newborn baby.
After a while, she grinned and let out a "ha".
The laughter was full of bitterness and relief.
Then she fell silent, staring blankly at the prosthetic eyes covered in fluff on the carpet.
"You seem to have no intention of asking anything." Teest stood up and sat on the armrest of Nol's chair, casually placing a hand on Nol's shoulder.
With the movement as a cover, his other hand gently rested above the "Betrayer".
"Knowing information beyond one's level only invites death." The General's voice was no longer the husky tone of before, turning into a pleasant mezzo-soprano. "I originally just wanted to survive. This outcome is really… Forget it."
She sipped the wine, letting it slowly slide over her restored tongue, and finally sighed deeply.
"From now on, I will not charge any fees for transactions with Paradise. The materials Paradise buys from me, I will not make a penny of profit. If you two are interested in any treasures or want any information in the future, you can get it from me for free."
She no longer wore gloves, her fingertips stroking the smooth glass.
"As I said before, I don't like taking too much advantage in transactions."
"I must clarify with you." Nol moved Teest's hand away from the knife and spoke earnestly. "Now, you are no longer a Supplement Demon. Your bodily functions are approximately equivalent to a healthy human in their thirties."
"That means, from now on, you will age normally, unable to live as long as before. You indeed possess a recovery ability superior to normal people, but you can't regrow amputated limbs or missing organs."
The General laughed. "Let me guess. If I insisted on retaining those monster abilities, you could only turn me into a complete monster, rather than a human like this."
"Yes," Nol said.
Unless he suddenly went mad and wanted to conduct a brand-new large-scale experiment using the General to create a new species—leaving aside the ethical issues, it was uncertain whether the General could survive.
"I have no complaints about the current situation. I'd rather be a smart, normal person than a long-lived, foolish monster."
The General continued to curiously scan her surroundings, savoring the normal vision she had missed for so long. "As for more lifespan and power, I'll find my own way."
"Then our transaction is over."
Nol regained some strength, preparing to leave. It must be dark outside by now. They could have dinner for two at the tavern before returning to the Lost Tower to rest.
"Please prepare the information on Enbillick Alva as soon as possible."
"Wait."
The General stood up and bowed very formally. It was the first time Nol saw a clear emotion on her face—joy faded away, leaving only seriousness behind.
"I believe you won't miss those important pieces of intelligence, but regarding Golden Sword, I have a personal hint. I've studied that guy, and that guy's luck is strangely good, impeccable in his actions, except…"
She hesitated for half a second, then still spoke up.
"I've carefully reviewed all his schedules and transactions, and sometimes, he seems to appear in two places at the same time… This isn't evident from the public records, but as a fellow merchant, I find the workload and negotiation arrangements a bit unnatural."
"I previously thought this suspicion was too crazy, but now it seems, the craziness of this world far exceeds my imagination."
Saying this, she gently swirled the wine in her glass.
It must be time reversion, Nol thought with a sinking feeling.
They had been back to the past before, and as long as they didn't interfere with the flow of fate, two "selves" from the same time could coexist, just like the Mad Monk witnessed Young Teest burning the church.
As an owner of the "past" authority, Enbillick merely shortened the time span—
Supposed Billy went back from January 3rd, 00:01, to January 1st, and rushed to another country, staying active there until January 3rd, 00:00, when the reversion ended.
To outsiders, during the time from January 1st to January 3rd early morning, "Golden Sword" indeed appeared in two different locations at the same time.
The problem was…
"Appearing in two places at the same time?" Nol immediately asked, "Were there instances of three or more locations?"
"No, I'm quite sure there were only two places."
The General's tone was very certain. "This 'suspected duplication' happened more than once or twice. I've specifically verified it."
"Thank you. Your information is very useful." Nol breathed a sigh of relief.
At least now they could preliminarily confirm that Star Stealer Sol couldn't do infinite recursions of time reversion.
"I should be the one thanking you."
The General raised her wine glass towards Nol, showing an almost sincere expression. "I'm very thankful to you, kind sir. Whenever you need information on the Mad Monk, I can even pay you—"
Before she could finish, the empty wine glass by her side shattered on its own. At some point, Teest had flashed to the side of the table, picking up a bottle of unopened fine wine.
"You said it could be for free." He grinned, shaking the wine bottle deliberately.
The General rolled her eyes and swallowed the rest of her words. "Take it."
Nol struggled to suppress a smile. "You don't need to worry about me. Just like I retained a bit of the monster circuit in you, we all need a little evil in our lives to live better."
The General managed a slight smile, seemingly not quite agreeing with the description of "a little".
"Best of luck to you both." In the end, she politely bid them farewell.
"…She's not really targeting you." Right after stepping out, Nol immediately expressed.
"I know. If the General really wanted to drive a wedge between us, she wouldn't have been foolish enough to pick a fight in front of me."
Teest stored the wine bottle in his necklace. Before leaving, he specifically stole a few more bottles of fine wine, even though they both weren't particularly fond of drinking. "She can't stand me but can't beat me either, so she's just trying to make a point verbally."
Nol remained silent. Now, there might not be many on the continent of Tahe who could beat Teest, but the Mad Monk didn't plan on expanding his pettiness because of it.
[Back to Star Stealer Sol. I still have a bad feeling,] Teest continued through telepathy. [He came to steal my gold wheel. Surely he wasn't just foolishly provoking?]
[That gold wheel was just made by me, bearing my scent. He might have thought it was a treasure or wanted to study my abilities. Don't worry, he won't figure anything out,] Nol said.
Teest was quite fond of that gold wheel, and Nol had considered taking it back on the spot, but there were ordinary people everywhere at that time, and it wasn't suitable for them to take action.
[That guy can trigger time reversion at will. I still feel uneasy.] Teest naturally held Nol's hand, muttering as they walked.
Nol's eyebrows twitched, and he pulled out Kando from his chest. "…Let's go home and have dinner."
He didn't want to ignore Teest's intuition. And for him, aside from Teest by his side, only the Lost Tower was of the utmost importance.
As they turned into an alley, Nol usually imagined the situation inside the Lost Tower. Kando scratched around in the air for a while, trying to open the teleportation fire circle as usual, but couldn't manage to do it normally.
"Something's wrong." Kando slapped the ground. "My teleportation is being blocked, I—"
Before he could finish, a dragon claw grabbed him. Nol immediately transformed into a medium-sized dragon, hiding his body with an invisibility spell. He grabbed Kando with one claw and Teest with another, quickly heading towards the direction of the Lost Tower.
During the flight, he repeatedly used the doll head left by Lynn, trying to contact the inside of the Tower. Regrettably, there was always no response from the other side.
Something had happened to the Lost Tower.
...
Five hours earlier, by the Wishing Fountain.
"My dear children, follow your mother and father. We'll buy you something to eat." Billy patted his children affectionately. "Avra, I'll line up. You take the kids to play by the fountain. When I come back, we'll make a wish as a family."
Avra hugged the two children full of love. "We'll wait here."
Billy waved his hand and headed towards the stall selling grape frost sugar, leisurely joining the line. At the same time, his hand slipped into his pocket, fiddling with the gold wheel inside.
This was undoubtedly a gold wheel personally made by the God of Creation Nol, still bearing the God of Creation's scent. But Billy explored it again and again, failing to find any special magic—this thing was treasured by Teest in the depths of his pocket, and he thought it was a rare artifact.
Why did Nol give a plain gold wheel to the Mad Monk? Billy thought hard but couldn't figure out the reason.
The scent on the gold wheel rapidly dissipated over time. In the end, apart from being newer, this gold wheel wouldn't differ from other wheels.
The God of Creation's scent…
Billy played with the gold wheel, curling his lips. He triggered a time reversion on the spot, going back to half an hour ago, outside the Black Forest.
At this time point, Nol and Teest weren't in the tower; they were talking to themselves in the "Good Blessings" bakery.
A perfect opportunity.
Billy was very aware that the Lost Tower, representing Paradise, was within the Black Forest. However, the Lost Tower had always been tightly hidden by the system, and its few administrators were extremely cautious, making it impossible for Enbillick to find its location.
Even if he blasted the entire Black Forest, it would be useless without system permission to find that damn tower. To locate it, he needed system authorization.
Billy took out the brand-new gold wheel, letting it wander through his fingers. He gestured with his other hand, bringing up a blood-red system pop-up.
"The location of the Lost Tower." He commanded.
[The target "Lost Tower" is only viewable by administrators. Your permission is insufficient.] Just like countless attempts before, the system coldly denied him.
Billy's action of playing with the gold wheel paused. He tossed it into the air, catching it on the back of his hand like flipping a coin. After lifting the hand that caught it, the gold wheel was firmly "sewn" onto the back of his hand.
The side with the leaf and sun faced up and the side with the king's portrait faced down. The edges of the gold wheel bizarrely merged into his flesh, like a piece of gold nail grown in the wrong place.
The God of Creation's scent seeped into the flesh around the gold wheel.
"The location of the Lost Tower." Billy commanded again.
[The target "Lost Tower" is only viewable by administrators. Your permission permission permission]
[Reconfirming your permission.]
[An error occurred.]
[An error occurred.]
[An error occurred.]
Billy nonchalantly tapped the gold wheel, striving to spread the scarce remaining God of Creation's scent. The skin on the back of his hand quickly reddened and swelled, making a sizzling sound.
"The location of the Lost Tower." Billy repeated for the third time.
[Reconfirming your permission.]
[Warning, your permissions are incomplete. Triggering the security review mechanism.]
[Emergency plan activated. Providing you with a rough direction. Please contact personnel within the Tower.]
"Enough."
Billy muttered, slapping the back of his hand, causing the gold wheel to fall off completely. The back of his hand was a bloody mess, but the person himself was indifferent, letting the flesh roll and blood slide over the skin.
"Now, I want to issue a new quest," Enbillick said softly.
The author has something to say:
All gods that have appeared so far have two authorities.
Perradat: "Concealment" and "Prophecy".
Star Stealer Sol: "Past" and "???", you can guess~
Nol: "Creation" and "Working Overtime"
Teest: "Destruction" and "Cat Transformation"
…Of course it's fake (.