How can a retired savior be considered retired if his price drops to 40,000?

Chapter 319: Projection Engraved in the Records

Ionid Hill was lurking about the Doomclaw.

The good news is that after the last battles on Vigilante, with the tacit endorsement of the Tenth Primarch Ferrus Manus himself, the Iron Hands have basically gotten used to the presence of an Ultramarines who has been dead for about 10,000 years on their ship; but the bad news that followed was that the Iron Librarians had apparently also begun to get used to the idea of ​​such a Cursed Astartes wandering around the ship in the form of a spirit, and in order to prepare for this, they had made some "preventive measures" in various confidential areas of the ship.

This directly led to a significant reduction in Hill's explorable range on the ship. In addition, as the only Ultramarines on the Destruction Claw, he was naturally outside the chain of command, so he had to be alone and idle for a long time. All these factors combined inevitably pointed to the final result:

Ionid Hill, by being so boring, becomes downright annoying.

The bad news was that almost everyone on the ship - from the Iron Hands Astartes to the Chapter Servants - had been annoyed by him at least once; the good news was that by the end of this voyage, Hill had found the person on the entire ship who was most suitable for him to harass:

Debbie Zem Void. Someone who is also outside the ship's command chain and routine work, it is rumored that he has also worked in the Chaldean Bureau. For some reason, he is in a relatively delicate position on the Destruction Claw. Most importantly, this person has obvious memory impairment for some unknown reason: every 24 hours, his memory will be formatted and cleared, and only 5 minutes of memory can be accurately retained as long-term memory.

This means that if you bother him once today, he will forget about it tomorrow, and you can bother him again. This is relatively sustainable.

Fortunately, this memory impairment did not cause significant difficulties for Debit to carry out some work that required continuity. Although only he knew the specific coping measures and planning skills required to counter the memory loss once every 5 hours with a storage capacity of 24 minutes, he was able to complete some quite time-consuming research projects on his own.

For example, the one in his hand right now... a "star disk" drawn with the main star of Baal as the center benchmark.

Hill didn't understand the mystical things. Even though his own way of existence should be classified as "mystical" and a piece of data that didn't belong to him was inserted into his spiritual foundation composed of ether, he still didn't understand these things. The complex runes and spells, abstract graphic symbols, and the names of gods and holy numbers with stories and metaphors really made him sleepy. Compared with the above, the astrolabe was a kind of spell or divination tool that was easier for him to understand to a certain extent - because he knew a little about astronomy.

This "more or less understanding" allowed him to roughly understand how Debbie used calculations and projections to convert the data in three-dimensional space into two-dimensional space, and finally sketched it on a large enough parchment. And because he only "more or less understood", the part of this work other than the description of the position relationship of the stars (that is, most of this work) was strange and novel enough for Hill to have enough patience to watch it quietly for a long time.

But it was unlikely that he would remain silent and quiet until all the work was done. It wasn't that Hill was not good at waiting, or that he had no patience - if this was complete silence that had to be maintained in order to achieve a certain strategic goal, then he would be happy to complete it without compromise, but there was no soil for such a situation on the Destruction Claw, right?
So he chose to appear from thin air when he was really bored and asked a question, or rather, stated a fact that he had finally determined through continuous observation: "I found that what you are good at is very different from what Fujimaru Ritsuka is good at."

This might seem like an attempt to pry into secrets, but considering that the day before, after Hill asked, "What is the astrolabe used for?", he was forced to listen to a three-hour mysticism course that he actually couldn't understand - firstly, Debbie was not very good at hiding his shortcomings, and secondly, this question might be relatively "safe" and not involve the so-called "academic significance", so it probably wouldn't cause him too much torture.

Debbie looked up expressionlessly and glanced at Hill—just to confirm who was speaking—then lowered his gaze again and returned to the star map he was making. He answered without any emotion, "Even if they come from the same organization, it is normal for each member to have different abilities under the premise of complementarity."

Hill agreed with this, after all, no one with a normal mind would require a company to be composed entirely of the same type of soldiers. But he did not immediately agree with this, because Debbie obviously had something else to say:
"Besides - I'm not denying her ability. In fact, if we use 'completing the designation of the Grand Master of the Chaldea Bureau' as the evaluation standard, Fujimaru Ritsuka's overall quality is undoubtedly the highest among the 48 masters of the current term, including me - but as a magician, she is indeed a complete 'layman'. The knowledge structure she possesses is completely based on serving the actual problems that exist in reality and must be solved. Of course, it is different from an 'academic school' like me who initially studied for research."

To Hill, this topic was obviously much more interesting than the boring occult lecture that lasted three Terra hours. Therefore, he asked a follow-up question at the right time to further advance the topic: "Oh? With the ability of Fujimaru Ritsuka, he is still just an 'outsider'?"

Debbie looked up at him again, but unfortunately, Hill was wearing a helmet, so he probably couldn't see anything.

"Don't get me wrong." He pointed out the position of another star with a hint of warning, "Descriptions like 'amateur' or 'newbie', even if they are objective facts, are not sufficient conditions for 'poor ability' in a world where magic is irrational and only relies on talent and opportunity. In Fujimaru's case, you can say that she is extremely biased in one subject, or that her basic knowledge is not solid, but if you underestimate her ability to adapt and operate, then you are doomed."

"As one of the direct beneficiaries of the Imperial Saint Summoning Technique, I certainly don't mean that." Hill said righteously. After all, he had seen the scene in the Star Torch where Fujimaru Ritsuka was chasing Akuldona with a cushion, and he recognized the hidden value behind this scene besides the Emperor's Children Legion champion letting her win. "I just want to ask, among you 'magicians', what level is she at?"

Debit put down his pen and fell into deep thought. After a few seconds, he gave an answer: "It's about the level of 'Seal Designation'."

As long as Fujimaru Ritsuka is provided with enough magic power, she can summon a large number of realm record belts (servants) at will. This kind of talent is indeed rare, and it is almost impossible to replicate by learning inheritance, but its practical value is actually questionable. Although some specific servants can become important reference materials for magic, or large-scale ritual sacrifices, it is difficult to really use the restraint methods that modern magicians can use to enslave them to complete a certain task (which may be against the will of the person concerned). Under normal circumstances, the Clock Tower will judge that Fujimaru Ritsuka's specialness in magic research is not very valuable. But they cannot turn a blind eye to this, because no one would be willing to let a remote control of a nuclear bomb wander around so casually. If there is no one with enough weight to guarantee her, Fujimaru Ritsuka's final fate in the Clock Tower will definitely be to be sealed and designated - just like Debit himself, if the inheritance department monarch Brissin had not guaranteed him and concealed his specialness in the Clock Tower, he would probably have been made into a living specimen when he was ten years old (born).

He didn't explain in detail how to perform the "sealing designation" operation. Fortunately, Hill didn't ask any more questions, but just interpreted it as a special term for some strange honorary title. "So she is indeed a very powerful magician?"

"She's a very capable person. But as a magician, her current level is probably between second-rate and third-rate at best." Debbie didn't understand what the other party was trying to prove, but he corrected her, "In terms of talent alone, she is mediocre. No matter how hard she studies, she can only barely reach the level of 'everyone can do it' in magic."

For a moment, Hill looked as if he was shocked. "Wait a minute, her technique of materializing the Cursed Legion in the real universe, is it something that anyone can do among magicians?"

"In theory, it's not difficult." Debit said without looking up. "Even if you are not from the spirit summoning department, a magician will be exposed to the knowledge of 'summoning spirits' in family education or general basic courses. As long as the three conditions of 'being able to identify the corresponding object through some means', 'providing enough materials and energy for the other party to manifest', and 'the spirit itself or its superiors agree' are met, anyone can do it by spending time to arrange the corresponding rituals. The most difference is the degree of completion. I have to admit that Fujimaru is indeed experienced in this area."

Hill didn't know anything about the occult, but he instinctively felt that something was wrong: "From what you said, summoning a demon doesn't sound difficult."

"It's not difficult." Debit raised his head this time. "In fact, for me, summoning demons is easier than summoning Heroic Servants or Cursed Legions. Do you need me to demonstrate it?"

"Well, let's just forget about this." Hill paused, "But didn't you also summon a 'Heroic Servant'? The one called 'Enkidu'?"

Hill had only heard of this person. It was said that he had controlled the demon prince Fulgrim in a previous battle, but had to be locked in a stasis field because of the stubborn Slaanesh pollution. The scary thing is that even if he was locked in a stasis field that physically cut off the cause and effect, the Slaanesh pollution did not stop completely. According to the prediction and calculation of the Iron Think Tank, after another six Terran years, they might have to face a Slaanesh Enkidu - Debit said that he was emotionally stable and said: Fujimaru Ritsuka will solve this problem.

"I didn't summon him. I just 'borrowed' him temporarily from Fujimaru." Debit replied calmly. "Let's not talk about whether the heroes of 'Humanity' will respond to the call of an existence like me. It's almost impossible to summon 'that' Enkidu in this universe without the 'Spiritual Base Portrait Atlas' of Chaldea."

Hill frowned in confusion. "We are all spirits in essence. What difference does it make?"

"You have been inserted with a record of Odysseus," Debbie asked, "don't you see any difference between you two?"

Hill was silent for a while, then asked tentatively: "It does feel thinner, but isn't that a special change made with the consent of both parties in order to weave our spirits together?"

This time it was Debbie's turn to pause for a few seconds: "...Is this what it feels like from a first-person perspective...?"

He did not pause on this question for too long, and soon changed the topic and gave a further explanation: "You, the 'Bound Legion', are essentially souls that return to the Emperor's Throne after death. Whether in the Warp, the Webway, or in this way, you enter reality as entities woven by the ether. You all fight as your 'complete selves'. But the 'Heroic Servants' are not like this. They are basically just a piece of data record cut off from their 'body' on the Throne of Heroes. To put it cruelly, they are more in line with the definition of 'consumables' than you are - but those who try to enslave Servants with this attitude will probably die miserably."

Hill thought about it briefly and chose to pick out the part that interested him first and asked, "What is 'Heroic Throne'? In your world, are there any real prototypes for the related legends?"

"No. It's just a customary name that's easy to understand and describe." Debit ruthlessly shattered all of Hill's romantic fantasies about heroic legends. "In our world, the so-called 'Heroic Throne' is nothing more than a database that the world itself naturally stores in order to deal with crises. Just like the 'Heroic Spirit' or 'Servant' itself is probably not a real person who existed in history, but a piece of data called a 'Realm Record'. In this universe, the only way to connect to that database is through Chaldea's 'Spiritual Base Portrait Atlas' - you can think of it as a special magic book."

He did not go into further explanation, but continued to focus on the work at hand - because for Ionid Hill, this little information was enough to keep him quiet for a while.

(End of this chapter)