The Experimental Log of the Crazy Lich
The Experimental Log of the Crazy Lich - Chapter 415: Chaotic Situation

Translator:imperfectluckEditor:Pranav

鈥淭he dragons still haven鈥檛 come to a decision?鈥?/p>

鈥淢y sincerest apologies, but not yet. The lords are still in discussion. I shall notify you if there鈥檚 any news.鈥?/p>

The Silver Dragon that greeted me had the best of etiquette. He was also incredibly handsome鈥攁ll Silver Dragons preferred handsome or beautiful forms鈥攂ut no matter what he said, he couldn鈥檛 change the fact that the dragon leader council was incredibly inefficient at determining overall policies that would affect all the dragons. Four days had passed since I last spoke to Halos, and they had not even reached a basic agreement among themselves.

I understood why they had such a council system but couldn鈥檛 agree with using such a system at all.

The more council members there were, the more different benefits each member would be concerned about. It would be almost impossible to reach an overall agreement. Plus, dragons were notorious for viewing time as unimportant. It was likely that they wouldn鈥檛 reach a conclusion anytime soon.

鈥溾€velyn, how鈥檚 the discussion going?鈥?/p>

Still, things would be far more convenient with a spy, as Evelyn was also a member of the dragon leaders鈥?council. Plus, she had a deep connection with both Bardi and Dragon World, so of course she would be invited. No matter which sister went to the council, they represented the entire group of Evelyns, and I could learn the progress of the dragons鈥?discussion simply by asking Copper Dragon Evelyn next to me. But only after I asked did I discover that I was still too young and inexperienced, that I had been far too optimistic鈥?Why was the dragons鈥?discussion stalling? Because of every different species鈥?personal benefits鈥?/p>

鈥溾€t鈥檚 a headache. Blue Dragon leader Kennen is arrogantly shouting about killing all outsiders and that dragons are the mightiest species capable of destroying all other species like how he always does. Yep, he鈥檚 the Blue Dragon leader that you made an enemy out of previously. He鈥檚 a maniacal dragon purist, so he probably would have opposed you regardless. The strange part is that the typically low profile White Dragon leader is strongly in agreement for working with you, while the usually friendly Silver Dragon leader is adamantly against you. You understand how it is, though. Silver Dragons have natural hatred for the undead.鈥?/p>

All of the above was easy enough for me to understand. The rest? I didn鈥檛 even know how to comment on it.

鈥淭he Copper Dragon and Bronze Dragon leaders both said that they don鈥檛 care either way. Both asked if Dragon City would pick up the tab for dinner tonight after the meeting. Most dragons that remain neutral on this topic have the exact same attitude. They鈥檙e strongly requesting an extra honeyed boar for lunch and an extra roast cow for dinner. Rather than the council topic, they鈥檙e more concerned about what鈥檚 for today鈥檚 lunch. Oh, someone鈥檚 even complaining that Gold Dragon Halos is abusing his authority and breaking democracy, but everybody is ignoring him. That鈥檚 because the Green Dragon leaders do that every time there鈥檚 a speaker. They oppose every single plan, no matter what it is. Wow, one of the Green Dragon leaders just spat corrosive acid at the speaker鈥檚 podium, causing Halo鈥檚 podium to disappear鈥?Halos got so angry that they鈥檙e now fighting鈥?Well, it鈥檚 whatever. Besides, it鈥檚 not like dragons are the only ones who break out into fights at leadership council meetings.鈥?/p>

Evelyn鈥檚 auditory livestream of the event helped me understand just how chaotic the dragon leader council meeting was. I suddenly felt a mysterious sense of sympathy for Halos the Gold Dragon and council leader. Just how bad must he have it to face a group of bastards like this every single day? 鈥ough鈥攃ough鈥擨 definitely wasn鈥檛 sympathizing with him because I was recalling the bastards in Sulfur Mountain City! Of course not!

鈥淗alos is so pitiful. Isn鈥檛 him being the council leader the same as being everyone鈥檚 venting target?鈥?/p>

鈥淭hat鈥檚 why the council leader is a job that the dragons take turns at. However, Gold Dragons have far too strong a sense of responsibility, so in the end a Gold Dragon is the unlucky council leader more than seventy percent of the time.鈥?/p>

Even though this job of council leader would only be temporary, it seemed truly unpleasant. But the dragons had ruled in such a way for countless millennia. Their social habits and customs would be ironclad. Changing them even slightly would be incredibly difficult.

鈥溾€hen what happens if the dragons need to take action on a major issue?鈥?/p>

鈥淭hen simply take action. An overall agreement has never been achieved even once. We all simply do what we want. Besides, it鈥檚 possible to accomplish things even on our own. For instance, if enough time passes, and the Gold Dragon leaders think that working with you will be worthwhile, they鈥檒l just grab those who agree and simply work with you. They鈥檒l act as the representatives of all dragons here in Dragon City.鈥?/p>

鈥溾€hen is there any meaning to this entire dragon council? It鈥檚 just to argue with each other and waste time, from what I can see.鈥?/p>

鈥淗onestly, I don鈥檛 understand it either. However, it has been the custom for countless millennia, so there鈥檚 at least that meaning to it. At the very least, it can act as a notification to all other dragons in Dragon City whenever there鈥檚 a major issue, so that everyone can know about it. It鈥檒l also prevent anyone from intentionally causing conflicts.鈥?/p>

鈥淚ntentionally causing conflicts? Are the dragons that bored with nothing to do?鈥?/p>

鈥溾€es. Often. For instance, any time a Green Dragon or Blue Dragon leader wants to do something, the Gold Dragon leaders will probably want to see if it will go against basic morals. And whenever the Silver Dragons want to do something, the Color Dragons will probably interfere. Most of the time, it鈥檚 not even because they oppose the issue itself, but they simply oppose the issue because of who brought it up. For instance, recently, the Silver Dragons decided to clean the ground of Dragon City. The end result was right after they finished cleaning, the Green Dragons immediately summoned vines and stink swamps and filled the place in. The Green Dragons claimed to prefer such an environment.鈥?/p>

鈥溾€hey really do have too much free time on their hands. First world problems. How much longer are they going to argue for?鈥?/p>

鈥淚t鈥檚 common for the council arguments to last for anywhere from one month to two years. But Halos is the type to have others who agree immediately act together with him. Still, asking for others to act with him will take some time, and even those who agree will still need to have some discussions. That鈥檚 why they should respond to you in about two weeks or so.鈥?/p>

鈥淭his still requires two more weeks鈥?鈥?/p>

I was beginning to sympathize with Halos more and more. Apparently, working so hard to explain the plan at the council meeting wasn鈥檛 even in order to help the plan pass鈥攊t was to beg the other leaders to not make trouble, or at least limit the amount of trouble they鈥檇 make when the plan was carried out.

The only reason the dragons had survived with such a ridiculous political structure for so long was solely that the dragons had enough power. They had no natural predators. Even if they spent most of their energy on useless internal struggles and pranked each other out of boredom, their foundational strength would not be affected. However鈥?/p>

鈥淭his time, their enemy is the Titans. Is it really alright for them to continue behaving this way? The Titans are no small nuisance; they鈥檙e unlike anyone they鈥檝e ever faced before.鈥?/p>

Yet Evelyn could only sigh. That was just how things were. Although she knew full well that the current dragon political system was horrid, there was nothing she could do about it. Due to their arrogance and overconfidence, the dragons had gotten accustomed to wasting their time like that.

鈥淔orget it. I鈥檓 busy with my own affairs. Let me know when they鈥檙e done.鈥?/p>

Right now, time was precious to me; priceless, even. The outside world was in a mess鈥攃onflicts raged all over鈥攕o I had no intentions of waiting here for the dragons to come to a decision.

鈥淏y the way, it seems that you sisters don鈥檛 care too much about the current situation in Bardi? Aren鈥檛 you worried that enemies will find the entrance to Dragon World?鈥?/p>

鈥溾€ven if Dragon City doesn鈥檛 send reinforcements, our First Sister will personally act if it鈥檚 necessary. Please rest reassured.鈥?/p>

Alright, I didn鈥檛 need to say anything else on this matter. Now that I had seen Supreme Immemorial Dragons for the first time and could compare their sizes, I could now understand the ridiculousness of the physical size and draconic might of the first three, tri-headed Evelyn sisters. Although the three were still weaker than a Supreme Immemorial Dragon, it wouldn鈥檛 be by much. Plus, if all ten Evelyns fought together, they could communicate with their souls and were fully committed to fighting for each other. I was curious just what combat power level they could achieve.

鈥淩ight, have you come to a decision about Cher? What does she herself think?鈥?/p>

If we considered the fact that the experimental subject鈥檚 mentality would affect the stability, and potentially the outcome, of the experiment鈥攃ough鈥攃ough鈥擨 meant to say that I was worried that a little girl like her wouldn鈥檛 be able to handle the truth! I originally didn鈥檛 intend to tell Cher all the details; I wanted to only agree on a plan to cure her with the Evelyns before directly tossing Cher onto my surgery table and executing the final plan. However, the Evelyns absolutely insisted on telling her everything.

I was interested to know how Cher, with her stereotypical 鈥渃lass president鈥?personality, would react when she learned all these worldview-shattering things.

鈥淭he existence she believed to be her adopted mother is actually her daughter. And this endless cycle of death and life and giving birth to new Evelyns is probably more than enough to ruin her worldview.鈥?/p>

鈥溾€his iteration of Cher is mentally stronger than even we anticipated. She鈥檚 decided to accept your plan to cure her.鈥?/p>

鈥淭his iteration? That means that a past Cher鈥斺€?/p>

鈥淲e鈥檝e told her the truth before. None of us would ever lie to her. When my idiot older sister told her the truth, Cher immediately chose to commit suicide.鈥?/p>

鈥淓h? If she dies without falling in love, won鈥檛 that break the cycle?鈥?/p>

鈥淣o, it won鈥檛. After she committed suicide, the cycle started all over again, and she became a baby with no memories. It was just that no new Evelyn sisters were born鈥︹€?/p>

From a certain standpoint, I must have truly hated Cher back in the year to do such a thing to her. But when I recalled the past self in my dreams, the man who hated the entire world, I felt it wouldn鈥檛 be strange no matter what ridiculous things he did.

Although it might seem rather strange to refer to my past self as 鈥渉e,鈥?memories of that time would play in my mind whenever I was asleep as of late. But this past me was far too different from the current me, and this made it difficult for me to view myself as him.

鈥淧erhaps the price of reincarnating is some type of foundational change. Perhaps, without realizing it, I鈥檓 becoming ever slyer, ever more mature, ever more鈥?comical?鈥?/p>

Thinking about this, I looked forward to experimenting鈥擨 mean curing Cher even more.

鈥淎lright. After we gather the required materials we鈥檒l immediately begin the surgery. I hope she can accept what she becomes. Ha! I鈥檓 like this after only four reincarnations. What will she become after she鈥檚 had eight reincarnations? Perhaps she鈥檒l be reborn as someone amazing. I really look forward to this.鈥?/p>

Out of all those unreliable methods I proposed, there was only one that the Evelyns found acceptable. Of course, this method was the only one usable from the very start.

鈥淧lan 178 (Revised edition that鈥檚 impossible to revise any more, and I鈥檒l get angry if anyone tells me to revise it again, but I鈥檒l have to revise it if you really tell me to鈥? Final Plan: Soul Net Construction.鈥?/p>

鈥淲hen normal lives are lost, they will lose all their memories in the River Styx and Heaven鈥檚 Pillar. Cher, however, never entered the River Styx to begin with. She simply washed away all her memories and started over from the beginning, but this didn鈥檛 wipe the memories deep within her soul. In that case, we can use an advanced magic spell鈥攕uch as Memory Recovery鈥攖o help her regain her memories of her past lives. It鈥檚 similar to restoring deleted data on a hard drive鈥?Don鈥檛 ask me what a hard drive is; I鈥檓 just making an analogy to make things easier for myself.鈥?/p>

鈥淥f course, in Cher鈥檚 situation, if we suddenly place eight lifetimes worth of experience in her head, there is a seventy percent chance her brain will directly explode and another twenty percent chance she鈥檒l go insane. But there鈥檚 still a way to carry out this plan: every Evelyn was once a part of Cher, so their physical connection can be transformed into a memory connection. We can use the technology of Pride to create a soul net.鈥?/p>

鈥淥f course, creating a soul net requires a high degree of synchrony between the souls. Pride鈥檚 soul net is successful because he鈥檚 the only controller of the soul net. All other souls are his tools and slaves. But your souls are all foundationally the same, plus you had soul connections with each other to begin with. I have an over ninety percent chance of success in creating this soul net.鈥?/p>

鈥淎fter creating the soul net, we can use the Evelyns to help Cher absorb her memories so that she can accept the inheritance of her eight reincarnations. All of her memories and strength will be gathered into her current soul. Just these memories and new soul shards that will be born will give Cher an over seventy percent chance of instantly becoming super powerful. And as long as her own soul becomes strengthened, she鈥檒l naturally be able to control if she enters reincarnation or not.鈥?/p>

鈥淎ctually, I feel that this should be the true complete form of Lust: the Evelyns will become an endlessly evolving group under Cher鈥檚 leadership. The previous pre-programmed self-evolution was only because the leader Cher was far too weak. She was unable to keep up with the Evelyns鈥?progress, which actually slowed down the progress of evolution and even made things random.鈥?/p>

鈥淎s long as this surgery is completed, I can guarantee that she won鈥檛 be weaker than any other Original Sin of mine, although I don鈥檛 know how powerful she鈥檒l become in the end. In fact, it鈥檚 quite possible that with you sisters鈥?assistance she鈥檒l be able to directly skip through the Three Heavy Doors of Myth and instantly become a SemiGod. Of course, since she鈥檚 the oldest sister of the Seven Original Sins, she should have this power level to begin with.鈥?/p>

Evelyn nodded. This current iteration of Cher was already the strongest and most iron-willed out of all the previous Chers. She was able to become a Weaver of Fortune鈥攁lso known as Summoner of Misfortune鈥攐n her own, best evidence of her excellent potential. All the Evelyn sisters were looking forward to how far she could progress.

鈥淭hen what鈥檚 the price for this?鈥?/p>

鈥淓verything鈥?Sorry, I just really like to use this joke. In theory, there won鈥檛 be any price. But the most common side effect of having too many memories is multiple personalities. Still, having a soul net will mitigate these problems. In conclusion, the success rate should be really high. After all, it鈥檚 not that difficult for me to solve the problem that I created鈥?and even if a new problem arises, I鈥檒l take care of it.鈥?/p>

Evelyn nodded in agreement, and thus the plan to cure Cher was settled on. But this wasn鈥檛 something that could be done instantly as all ten Evelyns would need to arrive together in order to help absorb Cher鈥檚 soul shards and memories.

At this moment, Evelyn paused for a moment and then looked at me somewhat strangely.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 the matter?鈥?/p>

鈥溾€y sisters want me to ask you if you鈥檙e really able to give us what you promised. What you promised us isn鈥檛 something that鈥檚 so easily achievable. Even Ayer wouldn鈥檛 be capable of accomplishing it.鈥?/p>

鈥淥f course. I, Roland, always carry out my promises. I never lie.鈥?/p>

鈥溾€y dragon senses are telling me that surprisingly you鈥檙e not lying to me. You actually never lie? I feel more reassured now. By the way, I should mention that you鈥檝e even managed to change my impression of you.鈥?/p>

鈥淒on鈥檛 be fooled by him. He never lies, but he forever only tells part of the truth. Aren鈥檛 there so many out there that have been pitifully scammed by him?鈥?/p>

鈥淪illy cat, shut up! I鈥檓 clearly a good person鈥攁 really good person!鈥?/p>

******

[TL/N: A sudden scene change occurs here. Roland is talking to the devil Kamiltias that he was negotiating with back in Chapter 412.]

鈥溾€lright then. It鈥檚 settled. I really look forward to the day I meet you in person.鈥?/p>

The devil face, which was hovering in midair, was also smiling. He seemed to be quite satisfied with what he obtained in our negotiations.

鈥淚 look forward to it as well. It鈥檚 truly interesting to speak to you. I鈥檓 even beginning to suspect that you鈥檙e secretly one of us devils in disguise.鈥?/p>

鈥淗ehehe! Others indeed call me the 鈥榙evilishly wicked and sly Roland.鈥?However, I still feel that I need to work harder to live up to the name and be compared to the real deal.'鈥?/p>

The Devil Lord Kamiltias鈥?image chuckled at this.

鈥淎ctually, there鈥檚 a simple shortcut. I can transform you into a fellow Devil. I promise that after transforming you, I鈥檒l give you a position equal to mine鈥攏o鈥攅ven higher than mine.鈥?/p>

鈥淏y position, you鈥檙e referring to physical position like standing next to you? Higher means lifting me above your head? Could you at least get a little more creative? Why play such word games? Besides, even if you were being honest, I still wouldn鈥檛 have agreed.鈥?/p>

鈥淗ow regrettable. Alright then, chat with you next time.鈥?/p>

The devil鈥檚 face vanished. I then furrowed my eyebrows and slumped over in my chair, completely relaxing myself and revealing my fatigue in a rare instance.

The Devil Lord was even more difficult to deal with than I expected. I really didn鈥檛 want to have to talk to him again if I didn鈥檛 have to.

As expected of an expert in tempting mortals into becoming fallen. Not only were devils naturally born with allure magic鈥攐ne of the most difficult types of magic to defend against鈥攖hey were also experts in psychology, hypnosis and all sorts of other little tricks. They were masters at making humans unknowingly fall for their traps.

Not only that, the devils鈥?language possessed its own magic power. If you accidentally agreed to or promised them something you would likely be bound by a contract. I had to constantly be on guard with my words, which was quite tiring.

Talking to Kamiltias meant that I had to forever be on guard against any potential wordplay tricks, along with defend against all his magics. This was even more tiring than a battle of attrition. Moreover, he seemed to be having quite a lot of fun. After he saw how special I was compared to others, he kept trying to act like a salesman, attempting to make me promise to transform into a Devil.

鈥淟uckily, we were communicating across dimensions. Otherwise, he would have been even more difficult to deal with. Considering that I really do have to meet him in person in the future, I鈥檓 truly shooting myself in the foot here.鈥?/p>

But, from another standpoint, our 鈥渇riendly interaction鈥?here had greatly helped our negotiations. Meanwhile, the other competitor, the Demon Lord, was in a much worse situation.

鈥淚鈥檒l definitely think of a method to return! Don鈥檛 you dare give me flowers鈥斺€?/p>

That was Elisa鈥檚 final angry roar when I ended my communication with her. It would seem that she was under great stress from whatever she was going through in the Abyss.

At her forceful request, this plan that shouldn鈥檛 have involved her was forced to include her. She would be even busier in the future.

鈥淥kay then. Although there are many troubles, at least there are some good things as well.鈥?/p>

I looked out the window and saw everyone being busy. This camp of ours on the Ghostwind Plains was becoming more and more like our home. Our new city here, which was named Dawnlight Town, was changing every day. Everything seemed to be progressing well.

鈥溾€he pearl of the Ghostwind Plains? The largest business district in the entire world?鈥?/p>

In our time here, I discovered that this world was just like an unexplored treasure vault. How could we possibly let the resources here go to waste?

Of the three mega airships, only the Borealis remained stationed at Dawnlight Town every day to guard it. The other two mega airships were both utilized as huge merchant airships and went to other locations to trade with the natives every day. As I watched our treasury fill up, I felt like I could just about say 鈥淩obbery? That鈥檚 far too slow a method to make money.鈥?/p>

What? You鈥檙e asking me if the bone airships were too scary to be used as merchant airships? The truth was the opposite. Only by having intimidating strength would it be easier to make trades with the bad-tempered locals.

At first, our people went out with the intention to peacefully scam鈥擨 mean peacefully trade with them. However, most of the natives had attacked them the moment they arrived, so now my people had learned from the experience. First, my people would stop the bone airship at some major tribal gathering location and fire a couple cannon shots to destroy a few buildings. After that, trading with the natives became much easier.

Unfortunately, having only two airships was still inefficient. But I wasn鈥檛 impatient about it, since my main goal right now was simply to let all the natives learn about my existence. My people were here to stay and would need to coexist with them.

The more I learned about this world, the more I didn鈥檛 want to leave.

Every single day, countless warriors in the Gentlemen Alliance mercenary group would make breakthroughs. It would very much shock others in the mortal plane if they learned how many Gold and Legend ranked warriors I had despite their young age.

And in this environment magic research would have new developments once every few days, which, in truth, was even better news.

Resources, technology and personnel. If I could carve out a place of my own in this world, I would receive an endless amount of benefits. I completely understood why the dragons didn鈥檛 want to give up on Dragon World.

Meanwhile, one of Timlad鈥檚 new accomplishments truly astonished me.

鈥淎rtificial souls? You succeeded?鈥?/p>