Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 560 - 513 Another Commission

"A body that manipulates Magic Power, the technology of the Mechanical Divine Sect, that is who I am, SS." Sparks flashed between the mechanical boy’s fingers as an ion sphere formed and rotated above his fingertip. "I am the future of the Mechanical Divine Sect in this world, the connection between the Mechanical Divine Sect and this world. Number 10001 said I have exceptional potential, but that’s after I’ve mastered all of the Sect’s knowledge and my body has been fully updated. I even doubt that guy sometimes, because he’s not usually very serious."

Number 10001? If memory serves, SS must be referring to Mr. Delusion, that special individual who became the High Priest of the Mechanical Divine Sect, a member of the literary society.

"SS, the one you mentioned, that’s Mr. Delusion, isn’t it, the one who brought us here?"

As if hearing a blot on his life, SS covered his face with both hands, his voice as if holding back some emotion, "Judging by your expression, Lyle, I know we’re definitely talking about the same person. The last Executor, the High Priest of the Mechanical Divine Sect, the guy who named himself William Wyran. Actually, he’s also my creator, most of my earliest memories involve learning with him until my body was updated to the final version. It’s like his neural circuitry had a fault, he suddenly put down his work and started ranting about becoming a literary creator, and began running around haphazardly."

SS lowered his hands and looked at Lyle and his group, all dressed in the standard wizardly robes, "One day he came back to our base, by then he had already joined the Andrei Lich Literary Society. I initially thought he was infiltrating that undead organization to gather intel, but what he brought back was a bunch of strangely flavored exotic foods and wildly imaginative fantasy manuscripts."

"Especially lately, he’s come up with the absurd idea of wanting me to abandon machinery for literature, and he keeps saying that sentence in front of me."

[SS, become a novelist.]

From SS’s complaints, Lyle could feel SS’s vivid feelings for Mr. Delusion, a complex emotion mixed with both admiration and complaints. He yearned for the mentor who used to be focused and responsible, who taught him, and he thought the current irresponsibly acting High Priest was shaming their whole faction. Like adolescents who loathe that beer-bellied man sprawled on the couch, doing nothing but nitpicking, SS’s feelings for Delusion were conflicted. This stark sentiment surprised Lyle, even leading him to wonder if SS was truly a mechanical being. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"I can’t understand what he’s thinking, has his logic board collapsed? Why, when by our faction’s means he could turn all of his ideas into tangible realities, we have the technology, the power to obtain everything we want, why must he obsess over those baseless, imaginary delusions?"

In front of him, SS seemed to be in a state of infuriated agitation, and Lyle, possessing a human’s capacity for comfort, approached slowly. He walked up to SS, who was seated but still as tall as him, and gently patted a spot on his shoulder armor that wasn’t sharp or exposed to flowing electricity.

"My situation might just be the opposite to yours, SS. I have an uncle who is the best at everything he does, except for socializing—nobody’s perfect. Honestly, having such an elder, I do feel some inner pressure. Can I be as outstanding as him, can I earn his approval? The answer is, I can’t. I can’t become a second Ralph, I can only be the best version of myself. SS, this might sound far-fetched, but if Mr. Delusion can’t be as serious and responsible as he once was, then why don’t you take his place and complete those tasks? SS, you were trained by him, you have astonishing potential, maybe you can stand up for your own faction, just like the Mr. Delusion in your mind."

Dim blue lights flickered at the edges of SS’s goggles, then the overall sheen dimmed.

"That’s impossible, I can’t take his place. He’s the High Priest of our faction, possessing the highest clearance of all individuals, only he can determine the direction of the Mechanical Divine Sect’s development, and only he has the privilege to meet our Mechanical God. I know it sounds a bit autocratic, but in reality, it’s the most rational and sensible way. Lyle, Number 10001 is the most profound scholar and leader of our faction. Yes, I dare say that even with his current unreliability, his capabilities are beyond what I, a compromised product of my era, can match."

"Especially now that there are problems with our Mechanical God, I don’t even have the capacity to chase after his footsteps. Lyle, just like you said, his current unreliability is just a small flaw that doesn’t overshadow his merits, even if he stagnates and does nothing for ten years later, our faction will still have nobody who surpasses him."

Problems with the Mechanical God?

Lyle exchanged looks with Shiny and the others, not forgetting the task at hand. Mr. Delusion was missing, and it seemed the only source of information was right in front of them.

"SS, can you tell me more about the problems with the Mechanical God? You might already know the reason why Mr. Delusion invited us to the City of Machinery. We accepted a mission related to the Mechanical God but he didn’t discuss the details of the mission with us. If I could understand more about your... Mechanical God, I think I could complete the mission better."

SS tapped his metallic head, from which emanated a pleasant notification tone.

"Of course, you can."

"In fact, besides Unit 10001, none of the other Executors, including myself, have ever approached the Mechanical God, or even came up with that title—it was those alien races who coined it, and we merely adopted it. Our way of receiving ’divine decrees’ is through emails received in our personal inboxes, originating from inside the Sun Pyramid, with the information processed to be obscure. Those pieces of information direct our actions and meticulously inform us of the knowledge needed. Most of the knowledge I have learned comes from these sources."

"’Broken Creator’ is a relatively flattering name, but the actual notation is [Obscured Processing (xx% Damage)]. This Mechanical God has bestowed our entire species with formidable computational powers—every difficult point in our experimental projects can be resolved as if an expert team stood behind us."

"That percentage keeps increasing, but the growth of that immense computational capability does not speed up with the repairs. This is the problem we’re facing now—the Mechanical God seems no longer to accelerate its thought processes. Like a water bottle that’s nearly full, its capacity is continuously decreasing as it approaches the brim. We’re very worried, concerned that one day the Mechanical God might stop functioning. Would that imply our species will no longer progress?"

"And all we can do is worry, for we have no authorization to enter the Pyramid where the Mechanical God resides, and we cannot depend on that one individual."

Lyle consoled him a little.

"At least we are here, which shows that Mr. Delusion isn’t entirely unreliable," although that man lost a billion in commission fees due to gambling debts and had no choice but to resort to all sorts of trickery to get this group of low-cost replacements from Lyle’s Necromancer Figure Club.

SS nodded, clenched his hand into a fist, and stood up.

"You’re right, Lyle. But I cannot just sit around and wait; I must do something." SS let out a rather cunning laugh, then he paused, his fingers interlocked and pressed against the tabletop.

"Lyle, you are on a mission from the Mechanical Divine Sect, correct?"

"Yes."

"Would you be interested in taking up another job, my commission?"

Lyle blinked; it was all too familiar. The posture of this bulky metal being was just like those from the literary society who were always scheming something. With that thought, Lyle posed his question.

"What commission?"

The lenses of SS’s protective goggles flashed, and the room’s intelligent lighting system dimmed the brightness.

"To infiltrate the Sun Pyramid and spy on our Mechanical God."