Hyperdimensional Warlock

Chapter 4265 The Decayer

Chapter 4265 The Decayer

Normefens continued recounting the examiner's information.

The examiner never revealed his name to outsiders, only referring to himself as "the withered one".

The book fairy said she "knew" it, but that's not accurate; she only knew about the decaying one-sidedly.

The main reason is that the Decayer is very famous in the Heart Chapter level.

Its pass rate is among the highest of all the Heart Chapter examiners.

"According to that person, the Decaying One doesn't seem to care what you answer. It doesn't even listen to what others say. Generally, as long as you take the right stance, it will eventually let you pass, albeit in a daze."

Therefore, many people who come to the Chapter of the Heart are actually praying to encounter the Decayer.

Generally, unless someone is extremely stupid, there's a high probability they can pass this level.

This is why Normeffens immediately told Angell, "You're lucky."

Angor, however, knew perfectly well that this wasn't due to good luck, but rather the result of behind-the-scenes manipulation orchestrated by the little devil...

"The Decayers have actually been active in the Abyss for a long time..."

Even when the Book Fairy was born, the Decayed One had already been in the Abyss for a long time and had been stationed in the Citadel of the Cruel Scholars' followers.

Because it has lived for a long time and has been in contact with the students of the city for many years, anyone who is interested can piece together its identity and origin from the snippets of conversation it usually gives.

It comes from an intelligent civilization.

However, what exactly this civilization is and where it is currently located remains unknown.

The only thing we know is that when the Decayers arrived in the Abyss, this civilization was at its peak, flourishing and thriving.

The withered one was just an ordinary seeker of the Way, wanting to pursue truth and knowledge, but feeling that his own civilization could not satisfy his thirst for knowledge, so he left his homeland and embarked on a journey through the void.

Ultimately, it arrived at the Abyss and became a follower of the Cruel Scholars, reaching the City of the Believers.

The City of Believers is a gathering place spontaneously organized by the followers of the Cruel Scholar.

Its main purpose is to plunder knowledge and construct infinite truth.

It can also be understood as a brutal version of a "comprehensive college".

In the City of Believers, the Decayer, through his own accumulated knowledge and insatiable thirst for knowledge, gradually rose to become one of the rulers.

"Back then, it wasn't called the Decayer, but the Seeker of the Way. It always walked through the city of learning with high spirits, and even the wind generated by its footsteps seemed to flow with formulas and numbers."

"But then, overnight, the seeker became a withered one."

At first, the followers of the Citadel were confused, not knowing what had happened to it that turned the brilliant genius into a withered and ugly idiot.

Later, people learned from some of its close associates that—

Its native civilization was destroyed.

"How it was destroyed, no one knows. What is certain is that the Decayers are the last survivors of this civilization..."

“After that, the withered one completely changed. He was always lost in his own thoughts, confused, empty, like a grain of sand, as if he could be blown away by the wind at any moment.”

"After that, it left the school town, and no one knows where it went."

"When it returned, its head had become enormous, like a ripe apple. And this huge head seemed to be frantically sucking nutrients from its body, causing it to become thinner and thinner, until it became emaciated and unrecognizable."

"After that, it came to the Nine Chapters of Scholars and became an examiner of the Chapter of the Heart..."

Normefens's story ends here.

Although much information remains a mystery, Angor has probably pieced together the intelligence on the Decayers.

This is a tragic soul who, due to the sudden destruction of civilization, suffered a tremendous blow and fell into existential despair.

All its outward manifestations—whether it's absent-mindedness, indifference to everything, or that sense of emptiness as if it might vanish in the wind at any moment…

They all actually point to the same kernel.

—The foundation upon which it exists is gone.

It's like someone with a perfect family, a lover, children, and living parents, suddenly losing all of that, and then going mad, not knowing what the meaning of their existence is anymore.

The situation is even more severe for the decaying ones.

It even lost its own civilization.

It is the last surviving member of the entire civilization. All its knowledge, glory, and memories have become rootless duckweed because it has lost its belonging and inheritance. It has even denied its own existence.

Otherwise, it would not have asked such an academic question as "Does a defunct civilization still have any meaning for the universe?"

It is precisely because it is caught in the dilemma of existential denial that it asks this question.

However, precisely because it asked such a question, Ingres felt that it had not yet completely entered a state of existential despair, nor had it completely denied itself.

From the tolerance that allows anyone to "pass the test" as long as their stance is right, to asking outwards, "Does my civilization still have any meaning?"... these are more like a silent cry for help.

Although it is trapped in the "invisible prison" of existential denial, it has not yet completely fallen into the endless quagmire of despair; it is still sending out humble, silent appeals for help.

Like a thirsty person in the desert, unable to distinguish whether the "water" in the oasis is real water to quench their thirst or an illusion of a mirage.

Even something as simple as fake water can offer a little comfort and psychological reassurance.

This also reveals its inner contradiction: rationally, it has slid into the abyss of nihilism; but instinctively, its yearning for "meaning" has never been extinguished.

Its act of asking questions is itself like a trembling hand reaching out from the darkness.

but.

This kind of support based on a false stance is certainly not sustainable.

Because this kind of support will not have any practical effect.

It continues to slide into the abyss of nothingness, and its speed has not slowed down in any way despite the support of these "verbal stances".

One day.

It will become utterly nihilistic.

By then, it will either completely self-destruct or become utterly indifferent and ruthless, and the so-called "high pass rate" will likely become a thing of the past for those who face it.

However, these matters are temporarily irrelevant to Angell.

At least for now, those who can ask the current questions have not yet completely slid into the abyss of nothingness.

……

After conducting an internal profile of the decaying, Ingres began to consider strategies for dialogue.

Because his most fundamental stance is that "everything about a dying civilization has meaning."

This stance should be consistent with the stance of the decayers, at least for now.

Therefore, Ingres wanted to take the path of sincerity in this response. However, he always felt that it would be difficult to express such an empty, metaphysical stance to the point of attracting the attention of a ruthless scholar.

It's not that I can't do it, but as an observer, although I share the same stance as those who have withered away, I have never truly empathized with them.

A shallow judgment based solely on one's own values ​​is unlikely to truly grasp the core of the issue on this topic.

It's like observing a flame through a thick pane of glass. You can see the light and heat, and passionately describe what it might feel like, but you can't truly experience the searing, visceral pain.

Without empathy, it's difficult to achieve perfection.

Even so, Angell still decided to give it a try.

Regardless of whether he can ultimately attract the attention of ruthless scholars, he will do his best to express his true inner stance.

If all else fails, contact Laplace and ask her to help find someone with strong verbal skills to continue the battle.

Thinking of this, Angell raised his head and looked at the withered one.

The Decaying One completely ignored Angor, still lost in his own thoughts.

Before answering this question, I'd like to talk about what...meaning is.

Angor's voice was loud, but it couldn't awaken the withered one. Instead, the little devil host looked over with a mischievous smile and an amused expression.

"The question you raised is based on a premise that you assume: that the meaning of existence needs to be assigned by an external, continuous observer."

“Once the observer has nothing to observe, you think that meaning, like a extinguished torch, has sunk into eternal darkness.”

"But I don't agree with that view."

"Meaning is never something that an observer can assign."

"Meaning originates primarily from the acts of 'existence' and 'creation' themselves."

"Take an ancient fossil, for example, engraved with the patterns of long-extinct organisms. Before it was discovered, it had been silent in the darkness for hundreds of millions of years. Does the epic of life's struggle, evolution, and existence that it records mean it is worthless simply because no one has seen it?"

No one answered, so Angell responded himself.

"of course not."

"Its value is established eternally the moment life is solidified on the stone. Its very existence is an indelible meaning etched upon it by the universe."

Ingres's voice echoed in the silent space. He didn't care whether the decaying beings were listening; he was simply stating what he believed to be a truth.

"And a vanished civilization is like this magnificent fossil. Even though it is buried deep in the dark soil, it embodies the epic of the entire civilization, and it is certainly meaningful."

"This meaning does not need to be confirmed by the observer; its existence itself is the meaning."

The withered one still showed no reaction. Angor sighed inwardly and continued:

"To be honest, at my age, talking about my understanding of such grand topics often lacks impact, so after thinking about it carefully, I decided to talk about it from my own perspective."

"Let me introduce myself first. I am an alchemist, and I would like to tell some stories from an alchemical perspective."

Do you know what the three most intense elements are when an alchemical tool is in the hands of its user?

"These are effect, material, and shape."

"Effectiveness is the core, stemming from the alchemical mindset. These ideas are exhausting for those who understand them, and completely incomprehensible to those who don't, so I won't discuss them today."

"Let me start by talking about the materials and the shape."

When Angell decided to tell the story from his own perspective, he noticed that the withered man's ear seemed to twitch, though he wasn't sure if it was just his eyes playing tricks on him.

However, the little devil host was genuinely interested, and even flew to the nearby sealing monument to examine Angor with great interest.

He had the expression of someone listening to a story.

"The materials used in alchemy tools are definitely related to the raw materials."

"Our civilization has a limited supply of extraordinary materials, which we can only obtain from other civilizations."

“I have used materials from many different worlds and civilizations, such as the shimmering grass from the Mousse Realm, the Ficks musk from the Manro Plane, and the green blood gold from the Senluo Plane.”

"I'm very good at enchanting, and among the materials I just mentioned, there's one that I use frequently in enchanting. That's right, it's Green Blood Gold."

Green Blood Gold sounds like a mineral, but it is not actually a mineral; it is a special magical plant.

"This kind of magical plant has never existed in my world, nor in any other world, because it does not grow naturally, but was created by humans."

"And the one who created this magical plant was the Senluo Fairy from the Senluo Plane."

"Their botanists spent thousands of years constantly improving it, and finally created Green Blood Gold, a blood-ink material with extremely transparent energy."

"When I first got into enchanting, I used a lot of Blood Ink, but they were all very difficult to use; later I came across Green Blood Gold, and the first time I used it, it easily surpassed all the Blood Ink I had used before."

"The shock it brought me at the time was astonishing. I even spent a full half month after the enchantment was completed to trace the origin of the green blood gold."

Because it was so shocking, I wanted to learn more about it.

"But then, do you know what I found out?"

Angor asked again, but as before, he received no response; however, Angor noticed that the withered one's gaze seemed less unfocused than before, and his eyes were no longer lifeless.

It seems they are indeed listening to Angell's story.

Angor didn't expect an immediate reply, but instead answered his own question: "I've discovered that the civilization of the Senluo Fairies has already perished."

"Moreover, it had already been extinct for a very long time before I was born, and even the Senluo plane had entered its final collapse period."

"I was deeply saddened when I received this news."

A civilization capable of creating artificial magical plants like Green Blood Gold must possess a profound culture and heritage. If it can continue to develop, it might become a new dominant civilization.

Unfortunately, they went extinct just like that.

"During that time, I was in a daze. The demise of a civilization is just a short line in a book, light and airy... But I know that its true weight is probably many times heavier than a thousand pounds, because this line of words carries a wealth of knowledge, technology, and countless lives."

"I even felt a sense of unease, wondering if my civilization might also be so fragile, disappearing without me even realizing it."

"Later, a friend of mine found out about my dazed state and said the exact same thing the examiner had just said."

"He said I'm lucky to be a human being."

The wizarding world, to which humanity belongs, is very powerful. Whether it is the foundation of wizarding civilization or the essential status of the world, it is stronger than many other civilizations.

At least for now, there's no need to worry about destruction.

His words temporarily relieved my anxiety, but also made me cherish the Greenblood Gold I had even more. Or rather, not just the Greenblood Gold, but also many other gifts from vanished civilizations.

"Because these kinds of gifts contain the weight of an entire civilization!"

"And this gift is not limited to materials, but also includes culture."

As Angell spoke, he stretched out his hand and used illusion magic to create an exquisite six-ringed pattern in his palm.

"This pattern originates from a lost civilization, named Shijie Civilization. I saw this pattern in a magazine that documented this civilization. It is said to be recorded on a mural in the ruins of the civilization... I thought the pattern was quite beautiful at the time, and then I memorized what it looked like."

Angor deliberately used illusions to attract the attention of the Decayers.

And he succeeded.

Although the withered one did not speak, he glanced at the pattern out of the corner of his eye, and even though it was only a glance, Angor caught it.

This means that it is listening.

"Later, I crafted a special array plate. Some of the magic arrays on this plate could not be buried in the material, but the exposed parts were really unsightly. I needed to design an shape to accommodate them."

"Yes, alchemists also need strong artistic skills, after all, physical appearance is also very important."

"Unfortunately, I don't have that much talent in art. I can't create an external pattern that can accommodate the magic rune blueprint while maintaining its beauty... In the end, after much thought, I came up with this pattern from the beginning of civilization."

"This is the final product."

Angor used illusion magic to simulate the appearance of the array plate combined with the six-ring pattern.

While aesthetic preferences may vary from person to person, some forms of beauty are universal.

Take the Sixth Ring Road, for example. It perfectly accommodates the complex and intricate patterns, creating a harmonious and beautiful effect.

Even the well-traveled and knowledgeable withered creature couldn't help but silently praise him in his heart. —Yes, the withered creature finally raised its head and looked at Angor.

To be precise, he was looking at the alchemical array plate that Angor had simulated using illusion magic.

Angell remained calm and continued his story.

"Even though I don't know the meaning of this pattern, the legacy left by this vanished civilization continues to influence me. Even in the foreseeable future, given the right opportunity, I will still choose this pattern as the design for my alchemical tools..."