Chapter 4281: The Astral Codex and Everythings! V

Forgemaster Vulcan shook his head when it came to The Way of the Self.

"It is a fool’s bargain, a trade of the unique for the common. A king selling his crown for a loaf of bread. It is a path for the desperate, but it is a path nonetheless."

The knowledge was a new, vast continent in the Atlas of Noah’s mind. As he was processing it, RUIN/EDEN’s voice echoed, a final, triumphant note in this symphony of discovery.

|Analysis complete, Master. I have cross-referenced the Modus Operandi with my own theoretical models and the unique nature of your existence. I have finalized your personal cultivation methodology.|

|[The Tyrant’s Infinite Garden – Modus Operandi]|

|Primary Boon: Your Everything of [Infinite Mana] is a unique, boundless resource. I did everything possible to base your cultivation of Everythings around it. You can infuse Seeds of Everythings with your Mana, and because it is infinite, the harvest will be... continuous. Endless. Infinite. You can produce a theoretically Unlimited number of Basic Units of Everythings.|

|Limitation: Your Mana is a pure, undifferentiated authority. It cannot be used to nurture the growth of Specialized Units. Those must still be cultivated through the slow, patient application of other authorities.|

|Synergy: Your [Principle of Perpetual Harvest] will amplify the yield of all your Trees of Everythings by a factor of one thousand. The Radiant Shore, now infused with the essence of many Dead Early Creature and the authority of Order among many other factors, is the most existentially fertile ground I have ever analyzed. Your garden will not just grow; it will flourish.|

HUUM!

Noah stood in the silence of the forge, the weight of all this new knowledge settling upon him. He had the armor. He had the Codex. And now, he had the fuel!

Oh!

He had...Everything!

Well, lets slow down. Maybe not Everything.

Forgemaster Vulcan observed him, his ancient, starlit eyes holding a deep, analytical light.

He had been studying the schematics Noah had provided, a faint, almost imperceptible smile of professional appreciation on his bronze face.

"A clever design," he rumbled, his voice the sound of a mountain giving a compliment.

"Flawed in its core assumptions about the pilot’s resilience, of course, and laughably inefficient in its power consumption, but the symbiotic interface... the Modulator... that is a stroke of genius."

He turned his gaze from the schematics to Noah. "A theory is one thing. A blueprint is a pretty picture. But craftsmanship... that is the true measure of a creator. I propose another exchange, scholar to scholar. You could build for me, right now, a Living Existential Armor and its Core Modulator from the schematics you have just provided. A demonstration of your art. And for this labor, for this proof of concept, I will provide you with a small collection of Units of Everythings. A starting fund, if you will, for you to begin your own collection."

...!

The offer was a test disguised as a transaction.

Vulcan waved a massive, bronze hand, and behind him, a section of the radiant, black stone wall of the forge dissolved, revealing a new, hidden alcove.

It was a treasury of primordial materials. Massive clusters of the pristine, stellar white Early Omnichalcum were stacked like firewood.

And beside them, a second type of metal, this one shining with a deep, golden obsidian light, its surface swirling with a contained, chaotic energy.

|New Material Detected: [Early Tartarite Metal].|

|Analysis: It possesses similar properties of conceptual density and indestructibility to [Early Omnichalcum]. However, its internal structure is far more explosive and unstable.|

|Conclusion: Any products forged from this material will possess a significantly higher damage output, but at the expense of defensive integrity. It is a glass cannon, Master. A beautiful, terrible, and highly volatile one.|

Noah stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the two mountains of metal.

"In addition to the payment," he said, his voice calm and even, "I will require a portion of these materials for my own uses. For... further research."

Vulcan’s smile was a jovial, booming thing. "But of course, young Elderborn! All things have a price. Let us see if your work is worth the cost."

Noah nodded once. He gave the command, and RUIN/EDEN did the rest!

HUUM!

Glorious, azure tendrils of his Infinite Mana, a thousand delicate, surgical limbs of pure, liquid energy, erupted from his being.

They did not surge with chaotic power, but moved with a quiet, terrifying precision. They wrapped around the blocks of Early Omnichalcum first, their touch gentle, yet absolute.

He stood before an empty space in the forge, and his will, guided by RUIN/EDEN’s perfect, if flawed, schematics, began to work.

The Omnichalcum, under the caress of his Mana, lost its solid form, becoming a river of stellar white light.

The other Early Creatures in the periphery, beings who had seen Folds born and Wheels die, stopped their own work to watch.

They saw a being of a mere hundred or so Quadrillion in power manipulating a primordial metal with an ease and an endurance that should have been impossible!

For minutes, Noah stood, a silent, unmoving conductor of a symphony of forging!

The tendrils of Mana wove the liquid metal, not with the brute force of a hammer, but with the delicate precision of a master weaver. They followed the schematics he had given Vulcan, creating a functional, powerful, yet ultimately limited, version of his own Aegis.

The process was a silent, beautiful ballet of light and power, a testament to a control over an Everything that was absolute!

HUUM!

When it was done, two new objects floated in the air before him: a pristine, white Justiciar armor, its lines clean and brutal, and a smaller, less intricate Core Modulator.

|[Justiciar Armor - Public Model] has been forged.|

|[Core Modulator - Public Model] has been forged.|

|Analysis: The work is... adequate, Master. Functional. But it lacks the soul of your own Aegis. It is a very well-made copy, but a copy nonetheless.|

Noah let out a slow breath, his form as calm and as untroubled as if he had just been taking a leisurely stroll.

He turned to the stunned, silent Forgemaster. "A freshly made Justiciar armor, and its modulator," he said, his voice a simple, factual statement.

The vibrant, analytical gaze of Vulcan was now one of pure astonishment. He stared at Noah, then at the armor, then back at Noah.

He shook his head, and a deep, rumbling laugh, a sound like an earthquake in a mine of diamonds, erupted from his massive chest.

He strode forward and clapped Noah on the back, a gesture of camaraderie that was also a test of strength.

The strike was a physical impact that would have destabilized the existence of a lesser being, but Noah’s Innate Omnichalcum Aura Field absorbed it with a silent, invisible ripple.

"An impressive Elderborn!" Vulcan boomed, his starlit eyes shining with a new, profound respect.

"Truly impressive. Aethelgard would gain much if you and others like you were to join our cause."

He then waved his hands, a gesture of a king bestowing a great treasure. From the very air, clusters of pure, crystallized concepts materialized, floating towards Noah.

They were the Units of Everythings!

The Basic Units were simple, beautiful things, small, perfect spheres of milky white light, each one a single, undifferentiated drop of pure potential.

But the Specialized Units... they were magnificent. The Unit of Law was a perfect, crystalline cube of silver light, humming with a note of absolute order. The Unit of Origin was a warm, pulsating sphere of white-gold, radiating a gentle, life-giving heat.

The Unit of Elemental was a chaotic, swirling storm of red, blue, and green, a miniature galaxy of untamed power.

Noah received them, his eyes shining as the prompts from RUIN/EDEN bloomed, a detailed inventory of his new wealth.

|Payment Received.|

|[Basic Units of Everything]: 10,000.|

|[Specialized Units of Everything]:|

| - [Law]: 1000 Units.|

| - [Origin]: 1000 Units.|

| - [Elemental]: 1000 Units.|

|Analysis: A significant starting cache, Master.|

...!

Oh!

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