Boundless Chronicles

Chapter 2: The Iron Tomb, I

Noël's head throbbed as two memories overlapped.

In the fourth timeline Collapse, she had died from a rusted pendulum trap.

In the Seventh timeline, she had been torn apart by a Tomb Walker.

Right now, she was pointing her broken Spear at him.

"D-Don't come Closer!"

Noël looked at her and made a slightly Complicated expression. He didn't know her name. In the first place, her name didn't matter. She was just an extra destined to die here.

He opened his mouth. "Put down the Spear. You Can't kill me with that."

"Who are you? What did you do to that monster?"

Noël didn't answer. He Simply Checked the Mnemonic Ledger in his mind.

[Current Fractures: 4 / 60]

The pain in his head SubSided, but the heavy feeling in his Chest remained. The timeline was warping too fast. If a Void-Weaver Survived Sixty timeline Collapses, they would lose their mind. Getting Stronger was the Solution and the problem at the same time.

Suddenly, Sparks flew through the air.

Paaaht!

A Small floating entity appeared in the Center of the dark Chamber. It looked like a translucent Clerk holding a Ledger made of blue light.

It was a Clerk-Spirit of the Codex.

[Haha, mortals! Are you enjoying the Iron Tomb?]

The young woman Screamed and fell backward. "W-What is that?"

Noël made a blank expression. It was Tally, a junior Registrar-spirit.

In his ghost-memories, he hadn't met Tally until the twelfth Chamber. Why was the Clerk-Spirit appearing now?

…Another Variable.

Tally floated down, Smiling like a merchant who had found a gullible Customer.

[Now, now. The tutorial was just a warm-up. You are penal laborers, right? The Aethelgard Empire left many toys here. Let's See if you can entertain the high-ranking beings in the Gallery!]

The blue Ledger glowed, and a new trial window popped up in front of Noël.

[Sub Trial #2: The Grinding Halls]

Category: Sub

Difficulty: E

Clear Conditions: Cross the gear room before the ceiling Collapses.

Time Limit: 5 minutes.

Compensation: 300 Tributes.

Failure: Death by Crushing.

Kuuong!

As soon as the window appeared, the massive rusted ceiling began to descend.

"Uwahh!" The young woman panicked and Started running blindly toward the Center of the room.

"Wait."

Noël quickly grabbed her shoulder. She Struggled against his grip.

"Let go! We are going to be Crushed!"

He Smiled warmly and Said, "Follow my Steps exactly. I will make Sure we both Survive."

Of Course, it was a lie. He needed her to act as a human Shield in case the trap patterns had Changed. His overall Stats were terrible. He Couldn't Survive a Single mistake.

"What is your name?" he asked bluntly.

"E-Elara."

"Elara. Get up."

Noël pulled her to her feet. To be exact, he had only asked her name because establishing a basic Social link increased the Chance she would follow his orders blindly. It was pure hypocrisy.

[The Gallery-being 'Widow of the Third Bell' Sponsors your attempt at human Connection.]

[100 Tributes have been granted.]

Noël's Stomach turned. Her donations always made him feel disgusted with himself. The Widow Sponsored grief and Sacrifice. If she was paying him now, it meant she expected Elara to die.

He inserted Strength into his right hand. He wouldn't let the Gallery dictate the plot.

Noël pulled Elara into the maze of rotating giant gears. The air Smelled of old grease and dried blood.

Kuuong!

The ceiling dropped another foot. The time limit was Short.

Right foot.

He Stepped onto a Stationary cog.

Left shoulder.

He ducked as a Swinging rusted blade passed over him.

Hwiiik!

"S-Save me!" Elara Cried, barely dodging the blade after him.

At that moment, the main gear in front of them Spun rapidly. Three Aethelgard hounds Crawled out from the gaps. They were grotesque monsters, half-flesh and half-metal, with glowing red eyes.

[The Aethelgard Hounds have smelled your aura.]

Elara thrust her broken Spear forward in terror. It bounced off the hound's armor.

Kakakang!

The Combat power gap was too high. A Tier 0 mortal Couldn't pierce Aethelgard metal.

The hounds leaped toward them.

"Aaaagh!"

Noël didn't draw his rusted pipe. He firmly planted his heels and grabbed a thick, loose power Cable hanging from the nearby wall.

Why? Because his Conflicts were puzzles of hidden mechanics.

The Clear Condition was 'Cross the gear room before the ceiling Collapses'. It didn't Say he had to kill the hounds.

In the ninth timeline, a heavy warrior had died here because he tried to fight the hounds while the ceiling Crushed him. But Noël knew the Structural architecture of this room.

To be exact, the ceiling's descent mechanism was linked directly to the main Cogwheel powering the hounds.

Right thigh.

He quickly moved away from the direction of the attack.

Noël rolled under the leaping hound and shoved the thick power Cable directly into the exposed teeth of the main Cogwheel.

Kwajijijik!

The thick Cable tangled in the heavy gears. The main Cogwheel Shrieked and jammed.

Because the hounds were physically tethered to the room's ambient power grid, the Sudden short-circuit caused them to freeze in mid-air.

Kwaaaaang!

The jammed Cogwheel exploded, Sending Shrapnel everywhere. More importantly, the massive hydraulic press Controlling the ceiling groaned and Stopped moving entirely.

[You have exploited a Structural flaw to halt the trial timer.]

[The Gallery-being 'The Auditor of Ash' objects to your Cowardly method.]

[The Gallery-being 'The Hollow Cartographer' rewards your technical discovery.]

[150 Tributes have been granted.]

150 Tributes? These entities were incredibly Stingy.

Noël didn't Complain out loud. He grabbed the frozen woman's Collar.

"Run."

They ran across the remaining Stationary gears and rolled through the heavy exit door.

[You have Cleared the Sub Trial.]

[You have received 300 Tributes in Compensation.]

Noël immediately opened his Codex interface. Combined with his leftovers from the tutorial, he had a decent Sum.

[Tribute Possessed: 750]

He didn't hesitate.

[750 Tribute has been invested in Stamina.]

[Stamina Lv. 1 → Stamina Lv. 8]

His breathing became much easier. The heavy feeling in his lungs Cleared up.

Shortly afterward, Tally floated through the wall and appeared in front of him. The Clerk-Spirit made a slightly Complicated expression.

[Hmm. You are a very Strange mortal. You don't fight properly. Did you Cheat?]

Noël looked at the blue Ledger in Tally's hands. He knew the Spirit's true nature. It wasn't just a guide. The Codex harvested mortal achievement, and Tally was the one who tallied the harvest.

He opened his mouth. "Tally."

The Clerk-Spirit flinched. […How do you know my designation? I haven't registered my name with the penal laborers yet.]

Noël didn't answer. He Stepped Closer.

"I know about the hidden instance beneath the fourth Sector. The one with the broken Administrator's Key."

Tally's translucent eyes widened. [W-What? How could a Tier 0 bug know about that?]

"I will tell you how to access it. But in return, I want an exclusive broadcast Contract. A 10:0 revenue Split, and a 2,000 Tribute down payment."

The Clerk-Spirit's jaw dropped. Noël was blackmailing a System administrator. This was the only way to Survive the early trials.

[Are you crazy? A 10:0 Split? The Administration Bureau will erase my existence!]

"Then I'll just Clear the hidden instance myself and take all the achievements. The Auditor of Ash is watching right now. Do you want to explain to the higher-ups why you missed out on a prime broadcast opportunity?"

Tally trembled. The Clerk-Spirit was greedy. Noël knew exactly how to manipulate that greed.

[Y-You... you are a devil!]

[The Clerk-Spirit 'Tally' has accepted the exclusive Contract.]

[2,000 Tributes have been paid in advance.]

It was a huge Sum. In the beginning, this amount of Tribute was enough to turn a Tier 0 mortal into a mainstream group leader.

Before Noël could Smile at his harvest, his right eye throbbed violently.

[The latent ability 'Gyre Eye' is reacting to a timeline anomaly.]

Wait a minute.

Gyre Eye was a Tier 2 ability. Why was it reacting when he was Tier 0?

Through his right eye, the dark Corridor ahead suddenly shifted. The rusted metal turned into a Clean, white marble floor. Ghost-silhouettes appeared, overlaying the current reality. They were figures from an erased timeline.

And among them, a man in a pristine Silver uniform was walking toward him.

Noël's heart sank.

The Archivist General, Soren Vael.

Why was he here? In the original progression, Noël didn't face Soren Vael until they were in the Capital.

[Your Mnemonic Ledger has detected a Severe timeline rupture.]

…This was a Story for when there were no Variables.

The man in the Silver uniform Stopped and looked directly at Noël. His eyes were Cold.

"Found you, Void-Weaver."

How? Noël's overall Stats were terrible. He had no weapons, no real allies, and his timeline was warping out of Control.

If he fought an Institutional Tier 3 Cultivator right now, he would die in o

ne Second.

[The Cataclysm Trial has been forcibly updated.]

[Main Trial #2: The Archivist's Execution]

Category: Main

Difficulty: A+

Clear Conditions: Survive Soren Vael's pursuit.

Time Limit: 20 minutes.

Compensation: ???

Failure: Death.