Endless Debt.

Chapter 26 Living High in the Sky

"This is the ladder of the extraordinary world, the cruel food chain, power and power, sword and sword."

Geoffrey let go of the chess piece in his hand, and let it fall on the chessboard, tumbling and hitting, making a mess of the chessboard, the chess pieces fell side by side, rolling everywhere.

Bologo didn't speak, but kept staring at the chessboard, not sure what he was thinking about, holding the "pawn" chess piece in his hand, rubbing his fingers vigorously, almost crushing it.

The chess pieces stand alone on one side, and then forge ahead without turning back. They either die on the road or reach the bottom line to complete the sacred "upgrade".

"Bologo, I will inform you whether there is any new news about 'human addiction' or the start of the implantation ceremony."

Jeffrey made arrangements for the rest, he continued.

"There are no tasks for you right now, you might as well go home to rest, relax, and keep yourself in a good state, which will help increase the success rate of the implantation ceremony."

Burrog raised his gaze, glanced at Geoffrey, put down the "soldier" in his hand, and then sighed long.

"You're right, being impatient will only make you anxious. I might really need to take a break."

A sublimator like Norm Ward is just the beginning of this extraordinary ladder, the humblest and lowest step, and he has not yet climbed this extraordinary ladder.

No one knows what is hidden in the shadow of Opals. Bologo still remembers the forces that are hostile to the Bureau of Order, and they also have Desublimers. In front of the hands, it is far impossible to know their ranks.

This world is tens of millions of times bigger than imagined, and Borrog is still weak at the moment.

"Oh, by the way, there is one more thing." Jeffrey suddenly thought of something.

"what happened?"

"Remember, you asked me about the 'soul fragments' before? You didn't know about the existence of the Desublimator before, so I didn't say much, but now it seems that there may be another possibility."

Hearing what Geoffrey said, Bologo listened carefully. There is a clear source of "resurrection from the dead". Only this mysterious absorption of debris, Bologo still doesn't know the principle.

"Do you know 'ether'?"

Geoffrey confided the unfamiliar vocabulary.

Burrog shook his head, seeing this Jeffrey continued.

"This was proposed by alchemists. At first, they thought that everything in the world was composed of four elements, namely earth, water, wind and fire.

But later, with the evolution of alchemy, someone proposed a new imaginary element, thinking that in addition to the four elements, there should be an element high above the sky.

This element high in the sky is called ether, and ether is supposed to come from the "secret source" of power. "

"Secret source..."

Burrogo whispered, the sacred "secret source", the source of all mysterious powers, and the end of truth.

"Ether is real. The unknown power filling the world is the energy that drives the 'alchemy matrix'. The release of the 'secret energy' of the sublimation requires this ubiquitous ether. Some alchemists believe that, The substance that constitutes the soul is ether.

The soul is the purest form of ether. "

"Soul Fragment is a pure aether," Borrog said in a low voice.

"That's right, but these are just theories, the soul is mysterious and unfathomable, not to mention the more difficult-to-observe soul fragments.

The current knowledge comes from the papers of some alchemists, and no one knows what the facts are. "

Jeffrey explained, "I only paid attention because you were so interested. If you want to know more, you can go to the library of the Bureau of Order to borrow "Psychology" and "Etherology". It feels like you’re sick enough to understand.”

ether.

Bologo recalled the strange feeling of the unknown when he used the "Key of the Crooked Path" before, as well as the power of the shock hammer, and Norm released the "secret energy"...

Those inexplicable feelings all come from the surge of ether.

"Ether is a very convenient power. Some sublimation users can operate on ether without 'secret energy', and thus acquire many skills called 'extreme skills'."

Jeffrey looked at Burlogo expectantly, "I think you are very talented, and you should learn extreme skills very quickly."

"Extreme skill? What is that?" Burrog had a strange feeling that he was about to get the answer.

"Ether is a very convenient power, in addition to driving 'secret energy', some people can also directly drive it.

For example, filling the body with ether to amplify one's own strength, this extreme skill is called "ether boost", there are many other extreme skills besides "ether boost", but each extreme skill is very difficult to learn, sublimation Being able to master one of them is considered a talent. "

Geoffrey's words broke through Burlogo's confusion in an instant. He endured his excitement and kept himself calm.

"However, it's too early for you who are not yet a Sublimator, and you will have plenty of time to understand these later."

Jeffrey didn't go on to talk about it in detail. As for the rest of the extreme skills, he didn't tell them all.

Boluoge also nodded, he had already got the information he wanted, and then mentioned goodbye.

"However...Jeffrey, the implantation of the 'alchemy matrix' should be a rather complicated technology that requires profound knowledge accumulation and a huge supply of resources. The Bureau of Order has such power to maintain the birth of Sublimation.

So Norm Ward, a person who licks blood and lives at a fork in the road, where did he get the 'alchemy matrix'. "

Burlogo expressed the doubts in his heart.

"This technology is not monopolized by the Bureau of Order. You must know that the world will never lack people who are fanatical about knowledge. I guess this guy is helped by the 'Friar of Truth' to implant The 'alchemy matrix'."

"Friar of Truth?"

It was an unfamiliar word, Burrog demanded.

"An organization made up of... a group of alchemists with somewhat problematic brains. It stands to reason that everyone likes 'scholars'. They have a wealth of knowledge and their own opinions, while the alchemists of the Brotherhood of Truth are It's a completely polarized group of people.

They pursue the truth of the "secret source", regard the "secret source" as a god, regard themselves as believers, and form an organization like a sect. "

Jeffrey sarcastically.

"Scholars who were supposed to break ignorance ended up falling back into ignorance because of their enthusiasm for truth."

"Are they the hostile organization of the Bureau of Order?" Burrog asked tentatively.

"It hasn't reached that level. In the Bureau of Order's positioning, this is a neutral organization, but sometimes they will cause trouble and enter a state of temporary hostility... They are enemies, but they haven't hated to the point of life and death. Even Sometimes we collaborate."

Jeffrey recalled things related to the Brotherhood of Truth. Because he tended to be neutral, he had dealt with these fanatics a handful of times in his field career, but from a certain point of view, some of Jeffrey’s The trouble is all caused by this group of people.

"These guys never care about the rules, they only want to pursue the 'secret source'. For this reason, as long as they have money, they will implant the 'alchemy matrix' for you. Of course, those 'alchemy matrix' are mostly their experiments," Jeffrey gritted his teeth, "It's really a good deal to make money while doing experiments."

"It can be said that most of the desublimators who are not recorded in the file are created by these psychopaths, such as Norm Ward."

Jeffrey continued.

"However, the most disgusting thing about these people is not only that they wantonly create sublimation agents and cause chaos in the extraordinary world, but more importantly, their bottomless pursuit of the 'secret source'.

By hook or by crook, regardless of the cost.

Many people died in their experiments, as well as the extraordinary disasters caused by the out-of-control experiments, and those who survived the experiments by chance, but became like monsters, and I don’t know how to call them..."

"Sounds awful..."

Burrog muttered, he had already imagined that scene in his mind, a group of crazy scholars, greedily thirsting for knowledge, this greed even made them lose their humanity.

"This is a necessary sacrifice to advance towards the truth and find out the 'secret source'... Those people will always use this sentence to justify themselves."

Jeffrey's words were full of disgust and hatred. Crazy groups like the "Friar of Truth" were born to stand on the opposite side of the Bureau of Order.

"But the Bureau of Order didn't eradicate them," Burlogo said.

"Because... sometimes we have to admit that these lunatics can indeed surprise us, so the Bureau of Order reached a treaty with them and maintained the status quo."

Jeffrey said with a little helplessness that he hates that group of people, but sometimes they really need that group of people, which makes people love and hate.

"Of course, if there is a possibility that the truth monks will lose control, we will not hesitate and show no mercy."

Jeffrey let out a creepy laugh. The Bureau of Order was able to allow the existence of the "Friar of Truth" because the Bureau of Order possessed absolute force. Absolute force brought power, as well as absolute confidence and calmness.

After talking about this, Geoffrey suddenly stared at Bologo, as if he was thinking about something, and Bologo was a little scared by him, and when he was about to say something, Jeffrey said.

"Bologo, you go back to rest, don't you have nothing to do?"

"Yes what's the matter."

Indeed, when not working, Burlogo's life is simple, get up, play with the war sandbox for a while, and then listen to your favorite music.

Bologo himself also felt a little bored, but in the previous time, because it was an internship period, he might be sent back to the black prison. He didn't have the heart to think about these things at all, and with Adele's death, his anxious heart became even more anxious. It's hard to be peaceful.

"You should find some hobbies, or have some pets or something, which can help your mental health," Jeffrey said.

Talking about this, Burlogo paused, remembering that Adele once said similar things to him.

"pet……"

Burrogo muttered under his breath, the kind voice coming through memory.

"Bologo, have you considered getting a pet or something?"

In my memory, it was a gloomy afternoon, when Burlogo hadn't moved from the sofa at Adele's house.

"Pets? Haven't considered it."

Burlogo lay on the sofa, looking at Adele who came out of the kitchen. She was old and out of shape, but Burlogo always forgot that she was an old man, and the good times still resided in her.

"I think you can raise something." Adele sat beside Burlogo, gently stroking his head.

"Whether it's a cat, a dog, or a little mouse, there's always something alive to liven up your dead life, no?"

"I feel like my life is still alive, I'm alive," Burlogo said.

"You are not. Whether you are hungry or full, it is your business after all... What do you need to care about, some little lives that need your care."

"Needs care, needs attention..."

Walking out of the memories, Bologo was a little stunned. He didn't expect that so much time had passed and so many things had happened.

He also couldn't remember exactly what he told Adele at the time, but in his impression, at that time, Bologo was still worried about the ups and downs afterwards, and he didn't know whether he would continue to be free or be sent back to the dark prison, so for He didn't care much about pets.

"I think I'm mentally healthy. If I wasn't healthy, I'd have gone crazy in a dark prison... As for pets, I'll think about it."

Burrogo doesn't think that's a problem.

Geoffrey was at a loss for words for a while, is Burlogo not sick?It seems that there is no such thing as a normal person who can communicate effectively, but is there really no problem with Burlogo's brain?Jeffrey has doubts about this.

It's like staying in the madhouse for a long time, and Bologo has already been contaminated with a little madness, but he didn't notice it at all, and regarded this "abnormality" as "normal".

Jeffrey has been very aware of this during the year of getting along, so he will always interfere with Bologo intentionally or unintentionally. He doesn't expect to make Bologo heal, but at least don't get worse, and try to be as human as possible , whether it is clothing or mental state.

Coughing twice in embarrassment, Jeffrey took out his pocket, took out a ticket from it, and handed it to Burlogo.

"You should find something to do, meet other living people... How would you like to see a stage play?"

Burlogo took the tickets, theater tickets, with the time and place printed on it, and the program to be performed.

"OK, all right."

Burlogo did not refuse Jeffrey's kindness and collected the tickets.

In fact, Bologo felt that he didn't need to rest. He was resurrected from the dead, like a tenacious iron man, with an iron body and an iron will.

He thought it was great, but Bologo also understood that his being so active would inevitably make Geoffrey worry, so he might as well listen to him and relax properly, not for himself, but for reassuring the people around him.

"I really like this troupe. If it weren't for the overtime work these days, I wouldn't have time to go there, so it would be cheaper for you." Jeffrey said again.

"Then... I went back?"

"Go back! Go back!"

Geoffrey called Burrog, who got up and walked to the door, was about to push the door to leave, but turned back.

"By the way, Jeffrey, when I captured Nome, I also got some unknown potions and the Philosopher's Stone. What should you do with these things?" he asked.

Geoffrey understood what Burrogo meant, and he responded.

"Pharmaceuticals have special personnel to test their ingredients, and the same is true for the Philosopher's Stone. We will hand it over to the alchemists, and they will restore the Philosopher's Stone back to the 'golden soul'. I will let them pay attention to distinguishing the souls in it. If With Adele's soul, I'll tell you."

Hearing such a reply, Bologo nodded, glanced at the chessboard, picked up the black "pawn" and held it in his hand.

"I'm leaving."

Bologo said, waved goodbye to Jeffrey, and left without waiting for Jeffrey to say anything.

The return journey is a bit long, and there is no "Key of the Crooked Path". Every time he returns to his home from the Bureau of Order, it is considered a long journey. Burlogo made up his mind to get a "Key of the Crooked Path" later. Keys" or move to Linna, the damn commute is just too much of a grind.

Walking on the street leading to the station, perhaps because it is about to enter the winter, you can clearly feel the coldness of the night, and a few withered leaves hang on the dry trees, making a clattering sound.

Bologo's hand was in his pocket, and he was still holding the "pawn" chess piece in his palm, and was tightly clenched.

He was thinking about something, something that Bologo didn't even know how to describe.

Bologo felt that Reversi was used to name this extraordinary power, not for any similar reason, it should have a deeper meaning.

Like a gut feeling.

Whether it is the lowly "sublimation person" or the lofty "glory person", these chess pieces are a member of the chessboard from beginning to end...

So is there such a possibility that outside this vast chessboard, there is something looking at the chessboard, they are chess players hidden in the dark, who have been playing chess since thousands of years ago, or even older Playing chess, and this dispute has not ended so far.

Bologo's pace stopped, and a cold feeling from the depths of his soul erupted, spreading from the heart, along with the rushing blood, and covering everything around him.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling a puff of white mist, Borrog stopped thinking and walked straight into the darkness.

(End of this chapter)