LotM: Surviving as a Marionette

This compensation was… interesting.

Don toyed with the large black-framed glasses in his hand. They resembled the 3D glasses from a movie theater but had a distinctly plastic feel. "Plastic? Does it use a portion of the power from that thing beneath the earth?"

After all, petroleum could be refined into plastic. On this current planet, however, petroleum was nonexistent, forcing reliance on alternative methods to produce fuels and plastic-like materials.

He remembered clearly: the Knowledge Moor had contaminated a portion of the power of the Chaos Sea and taken away all that 'petroleum'.

Despite this, intrigued by the system's processing and stated function, Don decided to try them on. The scene before him showed no immediate change – likely because there were no nearby sources of corruption intense enough to warrant visual blocking, rendering the effect invisible for now.

[This came directly from the Main System.] The system explained, not claiming credit. It simply couldn't manufacture such items.

"Talk about perfect timing…" Don muttered.

The true purpose of these glasses probably wasn't shielding against corruption in the Physical World.

Corruption that could be blocked in reality mostly stemmed from divinity, from high-ranking entities.

The truly indescribable horrors resided in the starry sky above, jointly sealed outside the planet by the Seven Deities. Unable to breach this barrier, the glasses' utility here was minimal, as reflected in their name: 'Mosaic Glasses for Stargazing' – at best, they'd make the stars look blurry.

(tln: Formerly translated as Goggles lol)

Their real function was to prevent him from instantly perishing upon accidentally glimpsing an unspeakable horror while utilizing the 'Observer' module at Sequence 4.

The 'Observer' module, the Mosaic Glasses… this System Version 1.1 update seemed tailor-made for him.

… Well, the system was built for him in the first place. It was just that this particular update delivered features that aligned perfectly with his current needs.

Tsk. Who knew how many pitfalls were hidden within.

After all, every gift bestowed by fate comes with a pre-marked price. The question was, what did the Knowledge Moor intend for him to do?

Kill a God of Craftsmanship for fun?

Don glanced at the system panel floating before him and shook his head.

The system was probably still basking in feelings of 'Aren't I clever?', 'Hehe, scored some resources again', and 'Accumulated another wave of energy'.

Emm, one could only say fools have their own luck.

He might as well degenerate into a maggot. This world truly wasn't fit for human habitation.

Performing a few more maggot-wriggles on the bed, burying his head into the mattress while hugging the quilt, fussing about for a while, and finally drinking a glass of milk before sleep, Don prepared to 'pass away' peacefully.

A night free of… nightmares? (Not quite.)

Because of Amon, Don's original plan to expand his recruitment drive across all of Tingen had been forcibly halted.

He had no desire for prospective students to start greeting him with "Were you looking for me?". Would he be running a secret organization then, or simply developing new subordinates for Amon?

"This isn't working either."

Manipulating the marionettes within his theater, Don chatted idly with the system.

"Need to figure out a way to lure Amon away."

Amon's presence here made things difficult, but the real challenge lay in his nature.

Through the system's Appraisal function, Don could confirm no one within his castle was parasitized by Amon. But Amon was dubbed a 'Plague-like Infection'. Flowers, grass, trees, even birds, beasts, and insects could harbor those bizarre worms.

He needed a way to monitor Amon – one the other party absolutely couldn't detect.

[Extremely difficult,] the system replied. [Omnidirectional, continuous, large-scale Appraisal coverage would consume an incalculable number of Appraisal uses and Knowledge Fragments.]

Don knew this was nearly impossible.

Even if the system identified all Amon avatars in Tingen City during one sweep, who knew how many new 'subordinates' Amon would have spawned by the next check?

His reserve of Knowledge Fragments couldn't withstand such massive consumption.

"Feels a bit like being scared by every shadow now…" Don murmured, fiddling with Spirit Body Threads, a self-mocking smile on his lips.

[He is, after all, an Angel King,] the system stated. [Host, relax, let's think of…]

"So the solution is to obtain divinity ahead of schedule."

[??] The system plastered several question marks onto the interface.

Don stood up, dusting off his clothes.

He had to accelerate his plans. He needed to activate the 'Observer' module and confront Amon as an Observer.

Having such a massive landmine beside him, his dreams last night were filled with Amon.

It jolted him awake in fright.

"Amon and the Marauder pathway are disgusting," Don sighed with genuine feeling.

None of the Three Pathways of Cowardice were any good.

[...] Host, you're harsh, cursing even yourself.

[Then, how about switching to Mysticologist/Alchemist?] the system proposed. [That should be the fastest way to obtain divinity.]

With its help, advancing without fully digesting the potion wouldn't be a problem. He'd just be a bit crazier, a bit dumber…

Don: "Sorry, rejected for ugliness."

He looked at his left pinky finger, where a ring rested.

The prerequisites for activating the 'Observer' module – advancing to Sequence 4 – could be broken down into two components: [Vast Spirituality + Participating Divinity].

Divinity resisted corruption and stabilized his state. Spirituality fueled the observation, anchoring him within that world and preventing expulsion.

It was a simple addition problem. Two fives making ten was equivalent to ten ones making ten.

How to obtain vast spirituality?

Naturally, by wishing directly upon the Theater! Ever heard of Yesterday Once More charms?

This was wool ripe for the shearing. As the Theater's director, while he couldn't outright wish for something utterly blasphemous like "Obtain divinity, this Miracle Invoker exploit looks tempting too", the Theater's Miracle Invoker level could still provide significant assistance.

…Could dead Spirit Worms be used to make charms too?

Failing that, a Scholar of Yore could always summon a few historical projections to join the fun.

"..." The surrounding marionettes silently edged further away from Don.

"As for divinity…"

Don swept a glance over the system interface before him.

Well, there was one right here.

Having assimilated a Sequence 4 Beyonder characteristic, the system itself possessed a certain degree of 'divinity'.

Coupled with the demigod-level mystical items in the system's storage, and the fact that the system was bound to his own spirit, the items within its storage could arguably be considered part of him.

If he could pull the system into that world in spiritual form, along with the Mosaic Glasses, it shouldn't be a problem.

The system froze stiff, mentally paralyzed by Don's idea for a full three seconds.

[Ah this, ah this...] It typed out a hesitant emoji on the interface, pointing at itself, then displayed a Patrick Star-level dumbfounded expression.

It? Send it in?

"If feasible, bring the Theater Core in too… Run your algorithms and see if it's possible," Don spread his hands. "If not, I'll figure something else out."

The system stalled for another few seconds. Then, the sound of frantic page-turning echoed in Don's mind.

[Wait, how is this different from the scenario I envisioned?]

Shouldn't it be his host weeping and begging for help, only for it to heroically intervene with its supreme high-level system authority, saving its host from peril and ascending to the pinnacle of system life?

Or perhaps the host would be forced onto the path of Mysticologist or Alchemist, whereupon it would valiantly shield him from madness, earning his eternal gratitude and propelling it to system glory?

[??]

The system's tiny processor overflowed with giant question marks.

Don smiled: Standard procedure, no need to praise.

This True God-level exploit might be one he could guest-star in too, being an adjacent pathway and all, right?

The Theater: Your conspiring is too loud… it's grating on my non-existent eyes… 

(End of Chapter)