Chương 22: Unlikely Allies

The printing press enchanters were a capable bunch, but simultaneously dimwitted. Nolotl didn't consider himself a genius, just a man with an open and immovable mind. Two traits that tended to help in any kind of studies. The true geniuses were the rest of the empyreans.

Enantyum non-withstanding, the other empyreans weren't only the best students of their respective Alignments, but outright powerful mages that were nearly on the level of archmagi whilst only being around level 8, whether it was on limited or infinite scaling Alignments. Yes, most empyreans were at that level at their young age. There was a reason why he constantly called himself the worst of them all. It didn't help that level 4 by age 19 was somewhat of a mediocre mark. Not terrible but far from great.

That's why he almost felt like a genius amongst these enchanting students. They certainly knew more about the field than him, yet they felt… fickle-minded. As if they hadn't embraced the concept of Information yet. Enala's printing press idea was more rudimentary than the one being developed by this group, but the suicidal enchantress at least understood what Information meant. Even if the more he thought about the concept of sentient rearranging printing keys sounded more stupid by the minute.

And talking about Enala…

"I feel like regurgitated draconic defecation…" The woman commented as she took a swig out of a waterskin. It was obviously enchanted to keep liquids cold. Enchanters—runamancers or not—had a tendency to enchant every surface their clutches lay on.

"One, that was definitely the analogy of all times," Nolotl leisurely said.

"And two, we spent two days working nonstop, and you hadn't rested for many more from what I had seen, so of course you feel like… regurgitated draconic defecation… even after sleeping for 14 hours."

"Wait," Enala frowned.

"It has been 14 hours?"

"Haven't you checked the Cognition?"

"Too drowsy and dazed for that," the enchantress let out a cutesy yawn.

"But pulsars, I feel like puking. I have never slept this much."

"That was a sign that your body was asking for it," the diviner explained. But most importantly, the date of Enala's death should've passed by already. Hmm, or perhaps not. I think she came sooner to me, so perhaps we aren't in the clear just yet even with these extra days.

"No, it was more about having suffered a mental death and reanimated out of sheer panic at the idea of coming late to work," the enchantress yawned again, though this time it was more of a groan.

"Do you even have a working schedule?" The Empyrean squinted at her.

"No… But it's an instinctual reaction. Like waking up for classes long after you no longer need to attend them."

"Ah, that I can get behind," he chuckled.

"I still wake up from time to time thinking that even if I am literally exempt from them."

"Happens to the best of us."

"You call yourself the best?" Nolotl snickered.

"Oh, shut it!" Enala said grumpily, though there was a smile drawn in her pale visage. A coloration he didn't believe it was from her western or northern blood. Most people in the workshop were on their lunch break for now, and some of the students had gone to classes as this was yet another way for them to get credit.

Nolotl was well aware that the Title of Empyrean Graduate whilst not actually providing status buffs, it was undeniably practical in real life as it certified you as a mage from the crop of the crop, basically guaranteeing you a job anywhere on Lon. Those kind of Titles, the one that acted as more literal titles than buffs, where the most common ones out there even if all of Nolotl's provided a change to his status in some shape or manner.

However it may be, the only way to graduate was meeting the minimum credits, acing the exams, and taking on the literal trials of your Alignment. But even with all of that, he didn't fully understand that frenzy of getting credits. Though he wasn't exactly the best person to speak about it as he was exempt from the credit minimum as an Empyrean, he just needed to keep his scores.

The nice thing about having become an Empyrean was that exemption carried over even if he lost the position, though he would lose access to the current benefits of the Titles and the perks of the title. Important distinctions. Enala sighed after taking another sip out of her waterskin. The woman had just woken up, and she looked as tired as the day before.

"So…" she started.

"What were you doing?"

"Working on the project of the Finil twins whilst you were out cold." The middle-aged woman pouted.

"You were helping one of my competitors?"

"Weren't you doing this for the love of the game?" Nolotl nonchalantly commented with his eyes glued to a blueprint.

"I am! But it feels… odd that you are helping others when you promised your assistance."

"Do not put foreign words in my mouth," the diviner said impassively, his gaze raising to look at the enchantress.

"If I recall correctly—and you know I do—I said: 'I will be allowed to access the printing press, study it, and use it'. Not once did I mention helping you. I did promise to help the twins' group in order to touch their printing press, but never yours."

"Ow… I guess you did," Enala exhaled dejectedly.

"So are you just going to work on their printer instead?" She referred to their creation with the name the twins had chosen. And admittedly, 'their' design was too different to even be called a printing press.

"I keep my promises, so I will keep an eye out for you so you don't succumb to madness and maybe help you with your project. But yes, my focus will be on the light-based printing press."

"Ah, what a shame." Regardless of her words, the enchantress didn't portray much emotion.

"Though on a more serious note, I was advancing more with your assistance. Even if you aren't an enchanter, a new viewpoint is invaluable, especially when it duplicates your existing viewpoints."

"I'll put my nose in your business from time to time, if that helps you."

"It does," Enala answered with a soft smile before going back to her personal and individual prototype. As much as Nolotl wanted to help Enala, his priority was surviving the ambush as he still didn't know if the loop was actually real—or more accurately, infinite in nature— and helping the Finil twins and Luminol by proxy was a great way to do so. Six mages had attacked him that day, and half of them were these three gnosiamancers, even if they weren't pure ones.

He didn't need them to be on his side, he just needed them to be out of commission, and neutrality was more than good enough for him. If they are out, I would only need to deal with a taximancer, a biomancer, and an akyromancer. Nolotl schemed. Whilst the Cahtuli warrior was able to cleave me in half with a single strike, the real problem is the akyromancer.

Thankfully they had an assassin build instead of a dematerializer one so they won't instantly kill me, but this means that they can have true invisibility and teleportation capabilities. True invisibility made reference to the fact of being hidden to the eye, but to the other senses as well. Beyond invisibility, true invisibility also incorporated intangibility and a lack of presence so strong that it made the wielder slip from other people's thoughts, even if they were gnosiamancers.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. I'll need to find a way to counter them. If I lost track of them, the akyromancer can just stab me in the heart again… But let's focus on the gnosiamancer triumvirate for now. As previously stated, the reason for Nolotl to work on the printer prototype was twofold.

Not only he was—maybe and just maybe—making allies out of the gnosiamancers but also increasing his Alignment and his progression level's accumulated experience. But the official terms were such a mouthful that most people just referred to the concepts as level and experience. Both of these were incredible things to obtain. Less people on the ambush meant more chances to live, and if he was determined enough, maybe he would level up before the ambush too, which would increase furthermore his chance of survival.

But he was also interested in a lesser third benefit: enchanting. The reason why he, Nolotl Xocoyotzin, was an Empyrean wasn't because he was a genius—far from it—but because the way to determine who was the Empyrean of each tower wasn't a perfect system. It was a rather flawed one in fact. With a bit of brawn and wit, he had cheated the system the previous year and became the new Empyrean of Information after the previous one had graduated.

It had been a rather easy way to do it as the competition to do so also valued combat prowess, and he was by far the most martial aligned gnosiamancer out of the whole Information Tower, let alone just the students. Not many scribes wielded spears and were in top shape after all. If he hadn't cheated the system, then the current Empyrean of Information would be… Wait… Nolotl let his quill stop as he realized something.

"You shouldn't be Empyrean. You are robbing my dear Cillin's position!" His mind perfectly recalled the day of the total celestial alignment along with Luminol words prior to their confrontation. Yes, Cillin would have been the Empyrean if I hadn't played around the rules, and Luminol plainly stated that was his reason to hate me… The Tezlan prince hummed deeply in thought. This means that no matter what my contributions to the printer are, he will still hate me. Should I step down as an Empyrean?

No, the Title is too powerful to let it go, let alone the perks of the position. Still, there are merits in making the twins my allies, if just to reduce the pressure I'm under during the ambush. But then I may run into the issue of Luminol not being slowed down by the coterie... Nolotl sighed in exhaustion. Why must everything be this complex? Asking people for help didn't even pass through Nolotl's mind. It wasn't a matter of pride, but facts. If anyone would try to help him, they would die.

He knew it deep in his bones. Any helper would die before him. He would watch them die. Again. You have resisted Madness. The terian rubbed his eyebrows. It makes no sense asking for help, either way. If I recruit allies, that will only make the ambushers react violently and recruit more for themselves. Six mages were overkill and I almost succeeded, even if it was only because of the butterfly effect. If Enantyum is to be trusted.

I must do this myself within my own limits and capabilities lest the Cahtuli recruit more ambushers. It took a handful of hours for the rest of the project members to come. Schedules were a mess for students in the Empyrean Academy as you could have a whole free day only for there to be a class at late night, and it was reflected in their attendance.

The member who assisted the most during the following days was little Peni as she wasn't as busy as the others with exams and the early years of the academy were always the more forgiving.

"By the way," Nolotl asked out of nowhere to the young enchantress without removing his gaze from the light-emitting diode he was working on.

"What year are you on?"

"First of gnosiamancy," Peni informed her.

"So you are 15?"

"Recently turned."

"That makes soooo much sense." The girl frowned at him.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that you look that age." She squinted.

"What does that mean?"

"Exactly what I've said?" Nolotl expressed his doubt.

"I assure you there's no hidden meaning or agenda behind my words."

"That sounds suspicious." The terian put a knuckle on his lips.

"Okay, I'll admit that my selection of words has made me sound rather… untrustworthy, but I was veritable with them."

"Right…" The diviner couldn't help but sigh at the girl's doubt.

"So," he continued to change the subject.

"How's it that a first year is getting head-first into enchanting? Not just the theory, but also the practice at that. You're probably the only one here beyond me that doesn't have an enchanting proficiency."

"Classes were too simple, and they offered extra credits if someone joined the printing press workshop."

"Ah, that definitely sounds right," he grinned.

"Postgraduates offering credits in exchange of free labor."

"Did you have to do it?" Peni asked.

"Well, before being an Empyrean."

"Like you said, exams were a bit simple, but I was never short in credits. I did offer myself in a short student exchange at the Light Tower's glassworks because they needed gnosiamancers for precise calculations, but I did that out of personal reasons rather than credits."

"The Light Tower's glassworks, huh? That sounds amazing," her eyes shone with juvenile wonder.

"Amazingly hot, you mean. If it wasn't because of my terian and Tezlan constitution, I would have died there. Remember that everyone in those glass foundries have Resistance to Radiation so they have absolutely no control systems for people that may not have it."

"Ugh, I take back my words. That sounds awful." Nolotl chuckled at the girl's groans. A part of him protested at him on his wasteful usage of time as he conversed with the young gnosiamancer, but he kept telling himself that this was for training. If he kept working at the printing press for the rest of the month, he would surely level up by the time of the total celestial alignment. And besides, he couldn't go spells blazing when he still didn't know if the time loop was real.

That was a constant splinter of paranoia that would still take weeks to be answered. Better to act as if it's the end of the world until proven otherwise.

"Why are exams so easy?" Peni asked him a handful of minutes later after she slumped on her seat and rubbed her eyes from exhaustion.

"Because you are mentally awake," the Empyrean's eyes still remained fixed in the diode. He had gotten a notification that his Light Alignment had increased, which was a bit of a shame because it could have gone to Information instead, but at least it diminished one of his least used Alignments instead of his main one, and he could always use some Light considering illusions had helped him significantly during the ambush.

"What does that mean?" The redhead asked. You surely like that phrase. By the width of a hair, he contained himself from speaking that sentence as he had the feeling the girl wouldn't like to hear it.

"Because of the existence of Perfect Recollection, memorization-based exams are quite literally useless, so all exams in the Information Tower must be made so they can only be answered through logic. Otherwise, everyone would ace every exam."

"But what about Cognitive Stimulation users? The Boon boosts my mental faculties which gives me an advantage on exams that Perfect Recollection wouldn't have."

"There's a bit of difference between the two," Nolotl finally removed his head from the workbench and cracked his neck. His long black and golden hair swayed lusciously from the motion." Perfect Recollection is a binary augment. You go from not having perfect memory to having it. Cognitive Stimulation is a multiplicative, or boosting, augment. If you are braindead, you will still be braindead with the Boon active, just a little less.

Either way, the Boon doesn't get significative until level 8 with its scaling, and by that point you should be graduating, so exams aren't exactly the first of your problems."

"Are you saying that most students are braindead?" Peni asked with a frown and crossed arms.

"No, I'm not saying…" The diviner stopped to think for a moment.

"No, yeah. I'm definitely saying that. Gnosiamancy requires, no, demands critical thinking out of you, and most people here are just drones—no different from the undead workers of the necromancers—that are incapable of doing anything for themselves. No number of Boons or levels will make a fool into a sage, only into a more efficient fool."

"Is this what Perfect Recollection does to a person?" The young enchantress asked with a hint of fear.

"This?" Nolotl extended his arms and looked at himself.

"No, this is me. I was just born a hateful person."

"Good to know…" She responded with unsure apprehension. After Peni had had a taste of what working with the Empyrean of Information was, the conversation died out and he only heard the young enchantress again when she removed herself from the workshop for the day.

"Talking about enchantresses…" Nolotl mused to himself and stood up.

"Enala, the day's over. Time to go to bed. Perhaps a bedtime story beforehand?"

"I can keep going…" The older enchantress half-spoke half-groaned full-mumbled.

"You can keep going tomorrow."

"Nooooo~" She protested weakly.

"I can…"

"Enala, you didn't even protest when I spoke to you like a child."

"Wait…" The gnosiamancer's dull eyes suddenly lit with cyan.

"Nolotl Xocoyotzin, I am no child you can boss around!"

"Well, now you are awake," he held a chuckle but a smile was still drawn in his visage.

"Can we finally behave like adults then?"

"Ugh…" She pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I hate how right you are. Why are we like this? How can we act so foolishly when we are supposed to be the representation of intelligence of magedom?"

"Gnosiamancy tends to push us to our limits, yes," the Empyrean helped the enchantress stand up.

"As much as we shape our Alignment, our Alignment also shapes us."

"I guess…" Enala's shoulders deflated as she started walking out of the workshop. A full week on the printing press' workshops had revealed the magnitude of the lingering madness in all gnosiamancers, but also their ingenuity. Perhaps he had interacted most with Enala, but his progress on the printer alongside the Finil twins and young Peni had brought him many revelations too.

It was unlikely that the brothers would become his allies, or any of the enchanters for that matter, but neutrality was a powerful weapon that he was understanding more and more how to wield. Dull as a training spear, but it still can hurt.