Nol advanced along the corridor, pleasantly testing his new abilities.
A sphere the size of an egg floated in his palm, ceaselessly transforming. From coarse stone to clear water, from burning flame to a pulsating organ. [Creator] was easier and smoother to control now. If before, casting spells was akin to coding and debugging a robotic arm on the spot, now he felt as if he was using his own limbs, which was immensely more efficient.
When the ancient Demon King passed away, he too felt a similar ease. The corrupted knowledge and memories that vanished might have allowed him to further reclaim the authority of the world.
Nol moved his fingers, and the egg-sized mass spun for a moment, turning into a blooming blue rose.
This was his world—truly, a world he constructed from nothingness.
…It was a pity they were standing on Perradat's body, surrounded only by an unremarkable sky and sea surface. Had he returned to the Tahe continent, his feelings might have been deeper.
Right, after greeting Perradat, he had to visit the neighbors.
He was their true kin, and they were his real neighbors. Past self-doubts and guilt vanished, making Nol's steps lighter.
This was his first time feeling so happy after creating Paradise.
Nol happily rushed toward Perradat's temple, where the ancient and mysterious doors slowly opened. The majestic statue remained in its place, and near the statue… there was nothing.
No, there was a note.
Where there used to be bouquets, now there were a few petals and, among them, a piece of white cloth. The cloth was fine in texture, with a line of elegantly styled handwriting on it—
[Take your time. I've gone to the Lost Tower. Perradat.]
Below the words "Take your time", several lines were forcefully drawn, filled with subtle resentment.
Nol: "..."
Ah, he had been busy treating Teest yesterday and forgot to take Perradat down from the statue. The God of Fate had become a cookie jar high above. He really needed to apologize properly.
Since Perradat wasn't here, he might as well wait for Teest and leave together.
Should breakfast be in the Tower, or should the two of them cook something small? Nol played with the blue rose and decisively turned back.
Half an hour later, at the base of the Lost Tower.
Teest: "..."
Nol: "..."
Members of the Fate's Poet Society formed several long queues, turning the good old Lost Tower into a middle school canteen stall. Each queue was marked with a menu written in the common language.
There must be someone from the neighborhood who had worked in a cafeteria before. Otherwise, it was hard to explain the two large buckets of egg soup on the tables. Nearby, there were also several baskets of fruit, pre-wrapped sugar cubes, and sweet cheese.
Members of Fate's Poet Society, though somber and bizarre in appearance, actually looked somewhat like middle school students in oversized uniforms when they obediently queued for food and sweets. Was this what Perradat meant by "going to the Lost Tower"?
"Nol."
Lynn was the first to notice Nol, and she ran over happily. "Are you alright?"
Nol: "Huh?"
"Perradat said you all worked hard to break the seal and battled a formidable enemy nearly all night long, consuming a lot of energy. She even had to lend a hand, using up quite a bit of strength." Lynn's voice was filled with concern.
Actually, it wasn't the battle that lasted all night. Nol coughed twice. In fact, he and Teest spent the night busy with other matters. But faced with such concern, he really couldn't explain…
"She also said you were too exhausted and would definitely wake up late, so She came over first." Lynn pointed to her sister, whose eyes were glowing blue. With Perradat's incarnation possessing her, she fiercely gnawed on a grilled lamb chop. Understandably, most people wouldn't want to have breakfast with a head.
"It seems your cooperation went smoothly… So, are you okay?"
Nol's gaze softened. "I'm fine. Everything went well, and Teest helped me a lot. Let's go into the Tower first. I have many things to discuss with you."
In fact, whether it was the neighbors' situation or the way back to Earth, he had some clues. However, with so many monster eyes around, he didn't want to publicize uncertain matters.
But the Lost Tower was just ahead. Everything was steadily improving. What a new—
"Right." Lynn casually picked up a basket of food. "Perradat said She worked hard all night, and you're especially grateful to Her, promising to provide material support, including meals for everyone in the town for one day. I'll talk to Lady Dusty about this later, don't worry."
Nol: "..."
Alright, he indeed forgot about Perradat. And according to Teest, he did squeeze—no, borrow a lot of strength from Perradat.
Moreover, Perradat's body couldn't grow crops. If he wasn't mistaken, the followers of Fate's Poet Society could only rely on sea fish, birds, and seaweed for food, at most getting some processed food from passing ships.
Even if they were Perradat's followers, they were, after all, creatures of Tahe. Even if Perradat didn't mention it, he would have helped these people.
It wasn't Lynn's fault. She couldn't have imagined the God of Fate would be so petulant. Miss Perradat was just venting in such a manner, which wasn't much of an issue—
"She also said you promised to hold a banquet tonight to celebrate the safe transfer of the Lost Tower," Lynn continued as she walked. "She's already prepared Fate's Poet Society's order, which will consume quite a bit of meat, milk, and sweet wine. The crops are okay. The fresh corn on the third floor just ripened…"
Nol: "...…"
They still didn't know how long they would have to stay in this forsaken place! If it came to it, he'd have to personally sneak to Tahe to stock up.
Nol looked toward Perradat, who was burying her head in meat. Sensing his gaze, she choked for a moment, then pretended nothing happened and continued to chew.
Suddenly, he realized something was missing.
"Teest." Nol curiously looked at his knight. "Why haven't you proposed anything like 'kill Her'?"
Usually, Teest would have eagerly suggested something by now. As far as Nol knew, the Mad Monk wasn't fond of suffering losses.
Teest himself was puzzled for a second and hummed several times before slowly providing a reason. "…Circus animal trainers give snacks to the animals after the performance. Perradat is somewhat useful for now."
"She did make an effort in 'helping you'."
Nol paused for a moment, then smiled as he stepped into the familiar conference room. It was very clean, showing no signs that the Lost Tower had been used as a battlefield.
"It's rare for you to be so generous. It seems I don't need to stop you." He expressed in a good mood.
"How do you plan to stop me?" Teest curiously leaned in.
"Bribery." Nol opened his fingers, and the blue rose from before fell into Teest's palm.
It wasn't squashed by Nol's pocket, blooming as if it were still on the branch.
"I'm looking forward to the next time, honey."
Teest unapologetically pocketed the flower, his smile becoming more genuine. "You know, the appeal of bribery increases gradually."
Lynn returned to her seat and cleared her throat with all her might. "I've already notified Officer Luo and the others. They should arrive soon."
The two stuck-together pieces of toffee finally separated.
...
"What did you say?!" Officer Luo suddenly stood up from his chair, almost jumping onto the table.
Solo and Anakin also looked like they were about to do the same. Their gazes instantly shot towards Nol, almost piercing through him. Only Mentor calmly sipped his tea, listening as if he were hearing a story.
"I've found a way to return, and also a way to restore everyone to their original state." Nol held a warm cup of tea in both hands. "We just need to eliminate the Star Sealer Sol."
"Wait. Hold on a moment." Lynn raised a hand, speaking as if she was having trouble digesting the information. "Did you receive a quest like this? If this world is real, how could there be such a simple—"
"It's not simple. It's something that only Lord Nol can do."
Lilith, possessed by Perradat, sat steadily at the edge of the table, as if the morning's deceit and indulgence weren't her doing.
"Let's first hear what Mr. Xu has to say," Mentor slowly suggested.
Nol took a deep breath and, facing his kin, honestly laid out everything. From Star Stealer Sol hijacking his creation of this world, to his mad rush to save his neighbors, to starting over from scratch, abandoning power in order to survive.
Perhaps because they had seen too much absurdity, no one interrupted his narrative. In the conference room, apart from Nol's voice, there were only uneven breaths and heartbeats.
"…I see. In summary, this world was indeed personally created by Mr. Xu, but Star Stealer Sol wants to steal it."
Not long after Nol finished speaking, Mentor clapped his hands. "The 'monsters' of Paradise were all saved by Nol. After Star Stealer Sol let its guard down, it used the system to summon us 'Players' to Tahe, to clear the power of the 'Demon King'."
"The Demon King is the real creator. It, a thief, doesn't dare to come down personally, only daring to use 'the system'—a power that belongs to the Creators—to deal with the former Creators. That guy is indeed very cautious."
At this point, Mentor laughed to himself, not sure if he found it amusing or wanted to mock.
"However, the system isn't completely under the control of Star Stealer Sol. When Star Stealer Sol ordered the summoning of Players, the system thought the timing was right and took the opportunity to awaken Mr. Xu and the monster kin… and then we encountered the bizarre reality."
Rosen frowned deeply. "Star Stealer Sol can interfere with Earth?"
Solo eagerly spoke up. "So how does everyone get back home?"
The two exchanged glances, with Solo slowly sitting back down, signaling the other to proceed first.
Perradat scoffed. "Don't worry, Star Stealer Sol won't make a move on your Earth—at most it will abduct some humans."
"Earth sounds like a wild civilization without gods." She explained to the bewildered Lynn beside her. "Normally, we wouldn't disturb such civilizations. In case their attacks could pierce through the sky, we would indeed get hurt."
Rosen then breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good."
Realizing that Star Stealer Sol also feared nuclear weapons, he suddenly felt much more at ease.
"So how exactly do we get back home? I want to ask about this too." Uncle Ma raised his arm. "Don't tell me we have to take down that Star Stealer and get a completion reward?"
"'Tahe' was originally a game designed for people from Earth, naturally including a 'Player login/logout' mechanism." Nol spoke calmly, his words filled with relief. "That is to say, the system has always connected Earth and Tahe. Because of this, I was able to create this world on Earth, and Star Stealer Sol could abduct Players from Earth."
Lynn bit her nails excitedly. "Right, that makes sense. Star Stealer Sol eroded part of the system. By eliminating Star Stealer Sol, Xu Yue can reclaim all the system's permissions… He can use the system channel to send everyone back!"
Uncle Ma: "The Players are one thing, but what about our bodies?"
"I will create them."
Nol said, raising his hands. Between the flickers of blue flame, a living heart pulsed out of nowhere, then dispersed into countless sparks. "As for appearances and physiques, I can restore them using everyone's memories."
The entire conference room seemed to light up, and even the air felt lighter. Lynn stood up in rare excitement. "This news comes at just the right time! I need to think about how to inform everyone. The situation in the Tower could be more stable—"
Anakin also efficiently summoned the system interface. "If possible, I also want to quickly tell Dorothy and the others…"
Clap, clap, clap.
The crisp applause interrupted everyone, with Teest lazily withdrawing his hands.
"Shh—"
Teest said, sounding very pleased, yet the bloodthirstiness in his words didn't fade. "No one hunts with flutes and harps in grand display."
"Everyone, please take a seat. I think we should properly discuss how exactly to hunt Star Stealer Sol."