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After some explanation and apology, Caelan recovered from his shock. He didn't hold any grudges—he understood why Chester had done it. But if the opportunity ever arose... well, there were consequences to offending a creative type.
"That runestone just now?" Caelan asked hesitantly.
"Ancient," Chester replied. "From before the Weave weakened the Illusionary Arts. An Illusion Grand Master created it, engraved with a signature spell called 'Truth-Telling.' Forces the target to speak honestly for a short time."
"There's a spell like that?" Caelan couldn't help rubbing his hands together like an eager fly. "Can I learn it? I do have Illusion talent, you know." He couldn't resist the joke.
Dean Thaddeus laughed. "That spell was lost after the catastrophe, ages ago. Not many of these runestones remain, and the spell has severe limitations. First, it only works on people weaker than the caster. It requires close range. The target must be unprepared. And even when it hits, it doesn't last long. Too many restrictions."
Caelan's shoulders slumped. "With that many limitations, the Weave still wanted to weaken us?"
"That's because one of your Illusionists turned out to be an oddball," Dean Thaddeus said. "Mastered incredible abilities. Completely destroyed the world's order. And the Illusionists of the past were not weak at all." He eyed Caelan meaningfully. "By the way—you're also an oddball."
Caelan pouted. "I never thought about ruling the whole world."
Mainly because I don't have the strength for it yet.
"Matters stipulated by the Weave cannot be easily changed," Chester said. "Changing them invites punishment."
"But the Weave used to stipulate that humanity could only have Five Great Empires," Caelan countered.
The Creator God of this world has very flexible bottom lines...
"The Weave can temporarily change its own rules," Dean Thaddeus explained. "That's how the Holy Emperor successfully established the Sixth Empire."
"How can that Illusionist compare to our Holy Emperor?" Chester said with open disdain.
Sigh. Fine. You're the Grand Masters. Whatever you say.
They discussed a few more matters, and then the three officials actually kept Caelan for lunch. The meal was surprisingly ordinary—not overly luxurious. It even included "humble" Cloud Boar meat, though prepared more deliciously than the street stalls outside.
After lunch, Caelan intended to leave, but Chester called him back.
"Caelan. Wait a moment."
"Does the Vice Commander have something else?" In this world, it wasn't common to drop the "Vice."
Chester straightened and spoke formally. "I am now inviting you to join the Crimson Legion's Intelligence Department, in my capacity as Vice Commander. Are you willing?"
Caelan blinked and pointed at his own nose. "Me?"
"Yes."
"Uh..." Caelan hesitated. "I'm still in school."
Chester waved this away. "You can join the Legion and temporarily not report for duty. Continue being a student. After graduation, however, you would serve the Legion."
Caelan thought about it, then shook his head. "Sir, I still want to be free and unrestrained."
"With your current contributions, a military position would easily grant you immediate ennoblement. Are you certain?"
Caelan nodded. "I'm sure."
The nobles of the Moonwatch Empire didn't have fiefdoms, and their status wasn't as elevated as in other countries. Becoming one felt... pointless.
Chester didn't push further. As long as Caelan was a citizen of the Moonwatch Empire, that was enough.
"I'll return to the Legion's station today. Someone will come find you tomorrow—she'll help deliver the supplies you requested."
What Caelan wanted was just a few types of extraterrestrial meteorites. He'd originally planned to acquire them himself, but with military help, things would be much easier. Chester had also agreed to sell them at cost, and going forward, Caelan could order custom-shaped runestones directly from the military.
Not a bad deal at all.
Returning to the shop, Caelan found the usual scene—players absorbed in their games, crowds gathered to watch. But today, everyone not actively playing was clustered around the Street Fighter machines, shouting wildly.
"Hadoken! Use the Hadoken to wear him down!"
"How come Ken has the same moves as that white-clothed Ryu? One's lightning, the other's fire."
"Did the Illusionist get lazy?"
"What do you know? They're different! One's super move is an enhanced Cyclone Kick, the other's is an enhanced Shoryuken."
"Big deal. Everything else is the same."
"Nonsense! I've tried both characters. Ken is way easier to use."
"Hey, have you noticed Ryu's super move—Thunder Hadoken—can be charged if you hold down the punch button?"
"Wait, really? I'll try that when I get on."
"Who's this guy with the fork? Is he fighting the Illusionist? I've never seen this character. How come he gets a weapon?"
"Nobody said weapons aren't allowed in the street fighter tournament."
"But everyone else is bare-handed!"
"I know this one. He's a villain. Can't be selected."
"I heard he might be selectable later."
"When?"
"No idea..."
Caelan closed the office door, and the soundproofing array activated. The noise from outside vanished instantly. The whole world seemed to go quiet.
He activated his mental energy and extended his awareness outward.
In just one day, his consoles had spread throughout humanity's sphere of influence on the continent. Comparing the active signals against the continental map in his mind, he found that even Holy Light Island in the Lion Kingdom had them—and quite a few, too. Over a dozen activated, either playing Famicom games or Street Fighter.
"The Church of Light is that open-minded?" Caelan was genuinely curious. He remembered that on the enchanted crystal broadcast, their Pope had actually spoken well of him. His rigid impression of the Church of Light softened a bit.
Speaking of which, humanity in this world had two major religions—worshiping the God of Light and the God of Shadow respectively. But although the two faiths didn't see eye to eye, they weren't the mortal enemies that novels from his previous life would suggest. Neither viewed the other as heretics to be purged.
The reason was simple: both the God of Light and the God of Shadow were deities who protected this world.
At the beginning of creation, the two gods had separately implored the Creator God—the Weave—to create races in their own image. Thus the Divine Race and the Demon Race came into being. Initially, both ruled the world together. But eventually, the Divine Race lost their struggle against the Demon Race and were driven from the Initial Continent. For ages afterward, the Demon Race ruled over all other races. That was why all spells, whether elemental or otherwise, were collectively called "magic"—a remnant of Demon terminology.
How many years passed after that, Caelan couldn't say. Millions? Tens of millions? The legends simply stated that the Demon Race's tyrannical rule eventually sparked revolts among the other races. With the Divine Race's help, the Demon rulers were overthrown, and the continent came to be dominated by the Elven Race.
Millions more years passed. Then, with the Weave's tacit approval, an entire continent was teleported from another plane. It had been fleeing—its original world completely invaded and destroyed, leaving only this incomplete fragment. With the help of two Creator Gods, it had hidden itself in this plane.
This new continent was about one-fifth the size of the Initial Continent. Its inhabitants all bore animal and beast features—collectively called the Beast Race.
After that, the Beast Race and the myriad races of the Initial Continent united to resist invasions from other planes: the Abyss Realm, the Purgatory Realm, the Demon Realm, the Spirit Realm, and even Elves and Humans from parallel worlds.
After millions of years of struggle, the Elven Race gradually became overwhelmed. Dominance over the continent began shifting to humanity.
And that was where things stood now.