LRAB Page 130
Page 130
[You have learned the skill of converting historical fuel into magic that you can use, and at the same time, the sixth beast within Nero has reached maturity.]
[Under normal circumstances, the Sixth Beast would have completely replaced its host's original will by now, guiding the world in the direction it desired. However, the compatibility between the Sixth Beast and Nero was simply too high. Even though it had fully entered maturity and the Sixth Beast's spirit origin had manifested in Nero, she still retained her own will. She acted and indulged in pleasure according to her own will, squandering the national treasury's accumulated reserves over the years, touring and holding celebrations throughout Rome.]
[Her indulgence and the Sixth Beast's favoritism gave you ample time to prepare, allowing you to avoid dealing with the beast's crisis using a new, incomplete spell, and also giving you time to improve your existing spells.] [You're not here...]
Yes, you don't intend to use the power extracted from the beast directly, because it goes against your original intention.
As a transmigrator, you are not a native of this world, nor do you belong to the natural ecosystem of this planet. However, just like the Greek Mechs from outer space, who are not the only gods of this planet, even outsiders are not all destructive scourges. You have already established deep connections with this world, and you do not intend to ensure that this world follows its destined end. Therefore, you do not want your newly developed magic to pose a huge threat to this world like the beasts.
At least... it can be done under your subjective control.
Therefore, you have altered the way the beasts use history. You have restricted the way humanity absorbs magic through incineration. You choose to anchor yourselves to those historical events that are related to you, extract these historical fragments, and then extract the energy contained in the extracted historical fragments for your own use. Once you have finished using it, this energy will return to the world itself, thus creating a cycle.
[You have completed the resolution—Magic Research and Development. Your trait 'Single Manifestation' has been changed to 'Mental Imagery Order·Fictional History'. When this trait is activated, you can use your will to alter the timeline of your surroundings, overriding the current physical laws with the physical laws of the fictional history you have experienced.]
Your trait "Intelligence" has been upgraded to "Genius". Three Level 3 innate traits have been detected, triggering a special decision - Individual Life Evolution.
You have been granted an irreversible opportunity to change your life form. Your current reference points are: Morgan, Artoria, Medusa, Jupiter, Arcueid, Beast6, Sephalus...
Chapter 312 Becoming a god is certainly good, but being a UO (Ultra-Original) is even more boundless.
Fairy Queen, Dragon Race, Earth's Primal God, Extraterrestrial Machine God, True Ancestor, Beast, Planetary Vanguard...
In the deepest recesses of the Roman palace, in a magic workshop where no one else existed except its owner, Quinn raised an eyebrow and his gaze finally settled on the last name in the list presented by the simulator.
King of the Moon
Arcueid's origin, the planet Uo, which once made a pact with Quinn, is a true symbol of ultimate life forms. Compared to it, fairies and dragons are nothing but roadside creatures, and even Earth's original gods and true progenitors pale in comparison. Only alien machine gods, asteroid vanguards, and the beasts that ravaged human history can be compared to it.
If judged solely on combat power, these four are Quinn's best options, far stronger than fairies, dragons, or true ancestors.
The Star Vanguard needs no introduction. As a hunting machine created by an alien civilization to hunt down surface civilizations of the stars, its achievements include, but are not limited to, directly defeating the gods of the Age of Gods, and its fragmented clones sweeping across Eurasia, causing unrest throughout the Age of Gods. It is undoubtedly the epitome of strength.
Beasts are also of paramount importance. Several beasts that have appeared in FGO are known to be beings capable of easily overturning the history of humankind. The Nine-Tailed Fox in its prime caused headaches for the immortals of the Shang Dynasty. Tamamo-no-Mae, who required a background-level Celestial Venerable to teach her the God-Slaying Whip to subdue, Tiamat, who could swallow the primordial sea and reset the Earth's ecosystem in a single day, and Goetia, the chief planner of the entire FGO game who created the Burning of Humanity... none of them are easy to deal with.
The prestige of alien machine gods like Zeus is self-evident, not to mention the so-called ceiling-level Chaos above them.
But for Quinn himself, this so-called choice was actually just a single-choice question.
Because whether it's the Planetary Vanguard, the Beast, or even the Alien Mecha God, these powerful species have only a limited selection. As subordinate creations of the Planetary Vanguard, it's unlikely that the Planetary Vanguard will surpass its creator. The Beast is merely a being limited by the disasters of human history. Even though it is powerful, it is still an existence that has been defeated before. For example, the Alien Mecha Gods of the Greek gods... While Chaos is undoubtedly the top ceiling, that thing has a ceiling that is ridiculously high. In reality, we still have to take Zeus as the benchmark. Even Zeus, who is a combination of Mecha God and God, is only at the level of the Planetary Vanguard.
Compared to these three, only uo is filled with unknowns.
Before the appearance of the giant spider Oort, the top representative of Uo was the Moon King Zhu Yue, the ultimate life form on a single planet and the agent of the planet's will. However, with the emergence of the setting that Oort was not a Uo from the solar system, but a Uo from the distant Oort Cloud, and that he swallowed the Uo of Mercury on his way to Earth, Uo, according to Aristotle, had already become the pinnacle of evolution for individual life forms.
The lower limit is the strongest individual life form on a planet, and the upper limit is a nebula or even larger uo. This is undoubtedly the threshold choice for planetary life forms to become cosmic ensemble life forms.
Naturally, faced with this kind of individual choice that seems to only occur in an Olympic arena, Quinn had no reason not to choose it, especially since there is no true uo on Earth itself, making it even harder for Quinn to resist the temptation of uo.
Yes, Earth doesn't have a true Uo in the real sense. Even though Arcueid is considered an agent of Earth's will, she is actually just a candidate Uo created by Earth based on the Moon King. In other words, the Earth's Uo system is empty. Considering that Earth doesn't have its own Uo's testimony in either of the Moon's works, Quinn feels that he has a chance to compete for this position.
How did you say that sentence?
There's nothing wrong with being a god or a beast, but becoming an uo is even more boundless for me, Quinn. Who wouldn't want to become a so-called "ultimate solitary species"?
With this thought in mind, Quinn made his choice. As for whether this idea could come true, he knew the hope was slim. After all, if Earth could really give birth to Uo, it wouldn't have ended up like the Steel Earth. But without a doubt, for him, Uo was the best choice at the moment. After all, if he couldn't become Earth's Uo, there were only other stars to choose from in this vast universe. At worst, he could imitate a certain giant spider and stage a cannibalistic drama.
Moreover, compared to other options...
The existence of UO is the only option that can be allowed by both the planet itself and human reason, existing simultaneously in the past history and the present modernity. Compared to things like the Planetary Vanguard and the Beasts, which would be abhorred by human reason, and things like the Greek Mecha Gods, which are not allowed to exist in the modern era, UO is the only one that, even if it appears, will not be driven away by both Gaia and Alaya.
You made your own choice.
[Resolution: The evolution of individual life has begun; your life form is undergoing an irreversible transformation.]
The world is scrutinizing you.
With the choice finalized, Quinn finally truly felt the so-called "scrutiny" in the pop-up window.
It wasn't a gaze, yet it was more powerful than a gaze.
Quinn realized for the first time that "being seen" could be a metaphysical form of punishment. (The last part is a nonsensical string of characters and doesn't translate directly.)
In this magic workshop where he was all alone, and where there was no one else around who could be watching him, Quinn clearly felt a sense of being watched. The owner of that gaze had no pupils, no retinas, no focus, and the way he was being watched was not simply by looking at him. He felt as if he had become a text being read aloud, and the reader was the Earth itself.
The feeling was like running naked in your room after taking a shower in the middle of the night, and all the furniture in the room suddenly opening its eyes and staring at your naked body. You were being watched but couldn't find any camera lens. The whole world fell silent at that moment. Even the noise of people and the rumble of thunder outside could not cover up the sense of deathly silence in your heart. In this metaphysical silence, Quinn heard his heartbeat being tuned to a unique frequency.
The Schumann frequency is the breathing rhythm of the Earth's own cavities.
This frequency is something the human body cannot generate, and it is also proof that the Earth itself is examining Quinn.
Quinn dared not breathe, fearing that any movement he made would trigger a stress response on the planet he had lived on for over a decade. After all, on a cosmic scale, Earth was still too young, and given the uniquely dangerous environment of the Type-Moon, Quinn was terrified that the planet might suddenly start breathing out like a stressful Hakimi and throw him out of the family.
That would be bad luck.
Fortunately, this scrutiny ended quickly.
A crisp sound interrupted his thoughts; it wasn't a pop-up from the simulator, but a real sound right next to his ear.
'You passed'
You have passed the scrutiny; your life form is transforming into uo.
Chapter 313 Peeping
Feeling refreshed and satisfied.
The entire process of human evolution into UO might be described in a brief pop-up in the simulator, but when it is applied to Quinn, it is a complete transformation.
Perhaps because he had already accumulated the Hercules and Alluring Beauty, Quinn's physical appearance did not undergo any obvious changes. Even when he stood naked in front of the mirror and carefully examined every inch of his body, he could not find any changes. However, in terms of perception, he had made far greater progress than before.
Not long ago, his senses were quite sharp; in terms of hearing and eyesight, he was almost on par with ordinary people and top-tier Servants. Now, this basic senses have reached an even higher level. If translated into a Servant's stats, it would be equivalent to having the inherent skill bonuses of "Hearing the Wind" and "Seeing the World." But to what extent has this bonus reached...?
Let's say that.
Medusa, far away in the Baths of Rome, is gazing at Quinn from afar.
Although the distance from the Roman palace to the Roman Baths is not a thousand miles, it is still far beyond the limits of human vision, not to mention the various buildings and walls that obstruct the view along the way.
Even with these obstacles, Quinn could clearly see his beloved wife half-submerged in the hot water, her chest and above exposed above the surface, a beautiful sight. He could even see the steam rising and forming tiny water droplets on Medusa's skin, sliding down her collarbone into that deep shadow.
At the same time, he could also hear Medusa's complaints of "Don't spy on me," and a hint of helplessness in her tone.
It can only be said that this level of perception might be considered extraordinary from a magician's perspective, but in the realm of us non-humans, it's nothing more than a joke. Nevertheless, Quinn was still very happy.
Because the last message in the emulator pop-up window was still the same: "Your life form is transforming into an uo." The absence of further pop-up messages indicates that the evolution happening to Quinn is not yet over. He has not yet fully become a qualified uo. Right now, in the uo world, he can probably only be considered a shota at best? But being a shota has its advantages, right? He has unlimited potential.
The long-awaited improvement put Quinn in a good mood, so much so that he became interested in what everyone else was doing. So, without hesitation, Quinn started spying.
First, there's Aika Sajou.
Compared to Medusa, who directly sensed Quinn's gaze, Ayaka Sajou's perception was noticeably inferior, but this was also related to her current focus on creating props. "You Merlin, Eirin, are busy? You Rin, are you there...?"
The Root Princess is currently hiding in a room that looks like a warehouse in the Roman palace. The walls inside and outside the room are covered with dense magic, forming a simple magic workshop that can effectively isolate outsiders. Inside the workshop, there are many alchemical tools that Quinn finds troublesome. Judging from the shape and materials of the tools, these things are obviously products from the modern era. It is a little secret that Ayaka Sajou secretly brought into Chaldea without the knowledge of the Chaldea inspectors.
If this scene were seen by Animusphia, it would likely cause the monarch to let out a sharp bang, but Quinn didn't care. He was just secretly carrying modern contraband to travel through time. In our Type-Moon world, this kind of thing would be considered a law-abiding citizen. What Quinn cared more about was the thing surrounded by those modern alchemical tools.
That is the Holy Grail, the real Holy Grail.
Since Quinn used the Holy Grail to summon the Sixth Beast, he entrusted this sacred relic, which all Christians yearn for, to Ayaka Sajō for safekeeping. However, Ayaka Sajō did not make any big fuss with it after that, so Quinn did not keep a close eye on her. Now, what Ayaka Sajō is doing with the Holy Grail has further lowered Quinn's guard.
Because Sajō Aika was holding a notebook, writing and drawing on it with great interest. The numerous terms and drawings recorded in the notebook were evidence of what Sajō Aika was doing at that moment.
"She...recorded the parameters of the Holy Grail? Is she planning to create a replica in the modern era?"
Quinn's lips twitched as he watched this scene.
He couldn't understand what was so interesting about recording this thing. It couldn't possibly be used to hold a Holy Grail War, could it? Thanks to Quinn's own interference, the Holy Grail War would be a commonplace magical ritual in modern times. Quinn had no idea what the point of Ayaka Sajou's actions was at this moment.
Don’t understand, but respect.
Having confirmed Sajou Aika's actions, Quinn shifted his gaze again.
This time, he saw Arcueid.
Unlike Medusa, who was enjoying a bath, and Aika Sajou, who was busy studying the Holy Grail, Arcueid was sitting in the audience of the Roman Opera with a big smile on her face, looking like a shut-in girl watching comedy anime at home.
However, unlike her relaxed image in the Europa mansion where she basically only wore pajamas, Arcueid's current attire is more like a cosplay, specifically a cosplay of a Roman noblewoman who is completely different from her own image.
Quinn remembered Arcueid's usual dresses, but now they were replaced with toga that accentuated her figure. Even her long, golden hair was styled into a high bun, exposing her fair neck to the air and adorned with a necklace woven from pearls and gemstones. Her shoulders, which should have been exposed, were covered by a purple cloak. In terms of attire, this was indeed the common image of Roman noblewomen, but on Arcueid...
She lacks the charm of a wealthy woman; all she has is a little girl trying to appear more mature.
It can only be said that some people are simply not suited to a mature look.
However, this is also a good thing. If one day Quinn really senses a sense of maturity in Arcueid, then it will be Quinn's turn to be sweating profusely.
As Quinn was thinking this, the princess immediately noticed Quinn's gaze.
Just like Medusa, Arcueid first frowned, a hint of anger appearing in her eyes. But when she realized that the spy was Quinn, she regained her previous relaxed demeanor, grabbed a handful of dried nuts and stuffed them into her mouth. While chewing, she tilted her head at Quinn and stared at him across the distance, seemingly wondering why Quinn could suddenly look at her across the distance.
But a few seconds later, the laughter that erupted in the theater caught Arcueid's attention again.
With the idea of sharing good things with friends, she immediately pointed towards the stage.
Following Arcueid's direction, Quinn turned his eyes to the stage and discovered that the play being performed in the grand theater was a Greek drama. Judging from the stage setup and the actors' lyrics, it belonged to Heracles' adventure drama, which piqued Quinn's interest.
But soon, after seeing the live lion being led onto the stage by the theater actors, Quinn realized that something seemed amiss.
Immediately afterwards, he saw a familiar figure appear on the stage.
That was Nero, dressed like a gender-swapped version of Hercules.
Chapter 314 The Pressure Above All
Quinn rubbed his eyes.
Looking back towards the Grand Theatre, and confirming that he wasn't seeing things and that the young woman, who was the Roman emperor, was indeed standing on the stage as an actress, Quinn's face contorted in pain.
He knew Nero was fond of Greek culture, enjoyed theater, and loved to put on a show, but he never imagined that this guy would like it to this extent... Oh right, this guy had previously imitated Heracles' naked lion grappling in the Roman Colosseum.
Even so, the idea of an emperor personally participating in a play is still somewhat outrageous.
However, such formalities were long forgotten by Nero on stage. She was completely immersed in the cheers of the audience and in her identity as a theatrical actress. Her steps were steady, and every step seemed to show the audience the power and fearlessness of Hercules. If she were in modern times, perhaps Nero could really become a good actress.
However, in this era, no matter how superb her acting skills were, there were only a few people in the theater who, like Arcueid, truly viewed this scene as a play. The vast majority of the audience in this grand theater were still Roman nobles, and the main reason they gathered here was to win Nero's favor.
Yes, it was all just to please Nero.
Because for the Romans of this era, their culture and customs had long since diverged significantly from those of ancient Greece. They no longer revered Greek culture, nor did they consider themselves part of the Greek people. Rome had long since become an independent empire that surpassed many city-states in the Mediterranean. Naturally, the Romans also surpassed the Greeks. It can be said that in the eyes of the vast majority of Romans, the only thing worthy of their recognition was their own Roman culture.
Therefore, Nero's actions at this moment were essentially nothing more than self-entertainment, similar to some emperors setting up markets in the palace and playing cosplay with eunuchs.