Chapter 776: Authority-Type Anomaly, Blood as Ink

"It's not that simple?!"

The quill scribbled furiously on the paper in front of him, clearly exasperated.

"The existence of a quill is fundamentally different from yours. Every word I speak, every promise I make, resonates with the strings of fate itself. If I were to make such a decision and fail to follow through, at best I'd suffer a massive backlash from my Authority, and at worst, the curse would awaken directly, leaving even my Will unable to be preserved."

"This is the price of Authority!"

Lynn was taken aback.

The quill continued writing in frustration.

"That's why I don't easily agree to things, and why I don't casually write down things I can't accomplish. The consequences would be absolutely terrifying, something someone of your rank simply cannot comprehend!"

Lynn was stunned.

This was an unexpected bonus?!

Didn't that make things much easier?

Lynn pinched his monocle seriously and leaned in closer. "Then just agree to it. It's not like you'd lose anything. After all, you've forgotten so many things, so why gamble on a backlash? You wouldn't want to suffer a huge price just because you broke a tiny promise, would you? Hmm?"

"But no matter how I look at it, I wouldn't agree to something this ridiculous?!"

The quill was growing increasingly exasperated.

Lynn (ノ￣▽￣) said, "That's normal, totally normal. Isn't that just what happens when you act on impulse? After all, compared to restoring those two chapters, isn't this kind of thing actually acceptable if you think about it?"

The quill slumped backward, lying flat on the paper like a loli who had lost all will to live.

Clearly, she had no energy left to argue.

She could guess with high probability that she'd been played by this despicable cat, but if she really took the gamble, the price would be enormous. And the only way to resolve this matter would be to restore her recently lost memories, but she absolutely could not do that, because that was even more dangerous.

"Just agree."

Lynn pressed forward seriously, extending his paw to nudge the quill back and forth as it lay there in despair.

"Don't you absolutely love cats? So wouldn't finding a handsome cat as your boyfriend be a perfectly normal and happy thing that satisfies your tastes?"

The quill lay completely still, as if dead.

She was wondering how he could say something like that with such a straight face. Setting aside the fact that he was supposed to be human, even if he really were an actual cat, wouldn't saying something like that still be utterly ridiculous?

"Agree."

Lynn's paw kept poking at her.

"No loss."

"Not a single bit of loss."

He continued his relentless, vile bewitchment.

Finally.

The quill propped itself up and floated into the air again, then with a sharp zip, it stabbed straight into the paper before it like a steel needle. Lynn immediately and decisively retracted his paw, squatting there looking completely harmless, a silly cat with absolutely no combat ability whatsoever.

At last, she calmed down.

The quill pulled herself out of the paper and, with tremendous willpower, painstakingly dragged her nib across the page to write:

"You'd better not deceive me. Otherwise, when I get angry, I can be very frightening too."

Click, click, click -

The nib sank deep into the paper, like a loli baring her fangs in a threat.

Lynn nodded vigorously like a hammering pestle, raising his cat paw. "If I lie to you, may I be struck by lightning from all five directions and give birth to kittens with no eyes."

He casually made a vicious oath.

It wasn't like he was going to give birth to kittens anyway.

Finally, with Lynn's repeated chest-thumping reassurances, the quill hesitantly and reluctantly dragged her nib across the paper, writing out those words she desperately did not want to write.

"F... Fine, I'll be your girlfriend then..."

Every single word took immense effort to force out.

Bingo! ﾍ(｀▽´*)

And almost at the same moment, Lynn heard the System notification by his ear.

"Ding! Congratulations on obtaining the Epic Evil Corruption Achievement: Seduction of an Authority-Type Aberration. Congratulations on receiving 500 base experience points!"

"Seduction of an Aberration-Type Authority Creature" - Epic Evil Corruption Achievement. This is the most vile achievement you have ever obtained. For normal beings, this is an extremely depraved achievement that might not even be triggered even in the late game. It can only be obtained when, with no investment and no price paid whatsoever, you successfully seduce an Authority-class entity whose rank far surpasses yours into becoming your girlfriend. However, the System still recommends you pursue more conventional routes. The evil corruption route achievements in the System's memory bank are nearly maxed out by you, Host. Please exercise restraint."

"Congratulations on obtaining permanent bonus: Morality baseline further lowered, Intelligence +30, Lightning Resistance +10%, new Codex unlocked: Authority-Type Aberrations."

"Ding! Congratulations on successfully recording the first 'Authority-Type Aberration.' Codex card unlocked. Please review it at your convenience."

And almost simultaneously, a brand new gray panel materialized before Lynn's eyes.

The panel was completely empty, with only the seventh slot from the top emanating a faint glow. The icon floating above it was none other than the image of this very quill.

Lynn was startled.

Authority-Type Aberration?

Could it be that...

Lynn tentatively clicked on the icon, and an introduction about the quill surfaced before him.

"A Quill That Must Write Something"

"True Name": ???

"Origin": Fallen Object from the Shattered World (?)

"Authority": Fate

"Curse": ???

"Introduction": A quill that fell from the Shattered World, learned of through Sir Aiwen. Extremely mysterious. Aside from its intense curiosity driving it to pry into knowledge and secrets, it has not shown particularly strong aggressive tendencies. However, this should not diminish its terror as an Authority-class entity. That said, as long as you do not provoke it, it remains quite passive and harmless. But be extremely careful. Perhaps it merely writes and doodles without any malice toward you, yet you may still encounter calamity because of a single careless stroke it makes.

"Relationship": Close girlfriend (seduced) (?)

"Available for Use": Locked.

Lynn was shaken.

This was a new entry and category...

Though he still hadn't figured out what exactly this so-called "Authority" was, Lynn could clearly sense that his level of exploration in this world remained quite low. There were still countless things in this world that he knew absolutely nothing about.

But judging from the introduction, Authority-type aberration beings probably weren't limited to just this one quill.

And from the looks of it, they didn't seem to fall under the ranking system, existing instead as anomalies independent of hell's level classifications.

Vaguely.

Lynn felt like he was stepping into an entirely new and terrifying unknown domain.

Lynn furrowed his brows and examined the panel carefully, but aside from the quill, all the other slots remained gray and blank, impossible to inspect.

But he knew.

Now wasn't the time to research this.

After all, since she was already his seduced girlfriend, there would definitely be plenty of time in the future to explore and excavate this quill's inner depths.

He snapped back to attention, immediately closing the panel. Pinching his monocle, he said seriously:

"In that case, from now on the two of us share a very close relationship. As for girlfriend duties and details and such, we can find time later to slowly discuss and study them. But right now, the most important thing is what's happening in Nightfall City. Whether we can suppress the shadow inside the Matriarch's body all depends on..."

But just as he was speaking, before he could finish his sentence.

Suddenly.

RUMBLE - RUMBLE -

A massive earthquake struck, so violent that even the desk beneath his paws trembled fiercely.

Lynn was jolted. At an unimaginable speed, he leaped off the desk and bounded to the windowsill, gazing out at the pitch-black sky beyond.

In an instant, Lynn's pupils dilated to their limits.

Gale-force winds howled outside, and high above, that purple-black magic circle had already congealed into something as dense as black blood. The aura of the curse permeated the air, and he could even clearly hear the sharp, agonized screams constantly echoing in the distance.

The ritual!

It had already begun!

Lynn whirled around, unable to contain his urgency as he cried out to the quill on the desk:

"Act now! If we don't stop it, everything will be too late!"

The quill slowly floated up, and a fresh sheet of paper unrolled across the desk.

"This will drag me into countless karmic entanglements. I truly do not wish to touch this, because altering this course of events will cost me dearly. So you must share the backlash I may suffer in the future. I need your blood as my ink. If you agree, we can begin right now."

"Though I have forgotten much, from the content of those two passages you restored for me, I can tell that you are capable of bearing this cost."