Mechanical Alchemist-Chapter 346 - 345 The Truth of the World

```

"I’ve finally understood!"

A look of sudden realization appeared in Su Lun’s eyes.

In the previous battle, he had devoured a great amount of demon qi like a whale consuming its prey, and the laws of death within him had also increased significantly. After several days of dormant rest, his body had completely absorbed those foreign energies.

Now awakened, Su Lun had a very clear feeling, that his understanding of the death laws had surpassed even Izanami, whom he had encountered before!

Since Izanami represented the upper limit of the laws of this world as the Yomi Country Lord,

It was precisely because he had broken through that "upper limit" that the foggy perception in Su Lun’s mind had been swept away, becoming utterly clear.

"Wrong, so wrong… It turns out that from the very beginning, my line of thought was incorrect. The ’god’ in the novel world isn’t Izanami, nor is it any other character, but the ’author’ of this story. He created this story, this ’world’!"

Su Lun took out the notes he had made and saw the clues he had written down; he understood everything.

Find adventures at novelbuddy

He flipped through the notes rapidly, and the points that had previously baffled him, when viewed from a higher perspective, became instantly clear, "I had completely ignored the most crucial premise before—that I am trapped within a cursed world constructed by a novel’s framework. In other words…I might have been dimensionally reduced! In this world, I feel like I am a ’person,’ but in reality, I might just be a special existence described by a segment of text."

A single leaf obstructs the view!

Just like in a maze, your vision is always obstructed by walls.

Only when your horizon and cognition extend beyond the walls, can you see the correct path through the maze—and not be blindly burrowing through, following its designated logic.

"Previously, my logical thinking, world cognition, and judgment were all confined within a closed-loop circle, much like a maze. Without the ability to go beyond this ’upper limit,’ I couldn’t see the true nature of this world. Therefore, that is the difficulty of the ’T-grade space.’ Without touching the limits of these laws, anyone who comes here is bound to die!"

Su Lun also instantly understood why, when they first arrived in the Netherworld, despite the ghosts being filled with hostility, they couldn’t perceive it at all.

Under normal circumstances, this would be impossible.

Not to mention the Ghost King, why didn’t they perceive the hostility from those lesser ghosts with their senses?

But in the logic of the book, it all made sense.

If the story’s logic doesn’t require you to discover (this plot), then, you won’t discover it!

The dimension limits your imagination, forcing you to think along its designated logic.

Just as ants are unable to comprehend the construction of a highway next to their anthill.

In the cognition of such creatures, perhaps, it’s akin to the end of the world.

A two-dimensional being cannot understand the concept of three-dimensional space either!

But does that mean they aren’t living beings?

No, of course not!

Now, looking back, many encounters did have significant flaws.

But they have always gone unnoticed.

Fantasy manifesting within a perfectly closed logical loop and trapping people inside.

This is the greatest challenge of this cursed space.

Having thought through everything, Su Lun’s eyes sparkled with vitality.

"The All-knowing Eye had actually identified the way out before, and even made great efforts to articulate the answer. However, after I entered the space, my cognition was limited, and I couldn’t think of the ’author.’ Thus, I also failed to realize the truth behind breaking the situation."

Su Lun couldn’t help feeling a bit wistful.

What seemed like simple logic turned out to encapsulate a loop.

Within a certain world, that world dictates your imagination.

And so, you would never doubt any "illogicality" in this world.

Because, within this world, as long as something exists, it’s considered logical.

Good heavens, that’s inconceivable.

Su Lun felt as if he had touched upon some high-level "world enlightenment."

...

Ultimately, he knew how to get out.

At this thought, Su Lun released a long sigh of relief.

```

```

However, the excitement after the decryption only lasted a moment before his face regained its calm.

It seemed like he found out too late.

Qian Tiao and the Princess were dead, and he himself was in a "half-human half-ghost" state.

Since the author of the "Death Novel" was a "True God" of an unfinished story, could it be possible for him to rewrite the ending?

At that thought, a glimmer of hope reappeared in Su Lun’s eyes.

If possible, he was willing to pay any price to save them both.

But he was also uncertain.

Because his current state was very strange — in the book, yet somehow transcending the story.

So,

if the past story had been set in stone, would there still be the present if the past ending changed?

This seemed to be a contradiction.

Su Lun pondered for a long time but couldn’t come to a clear conclusion.

He noted this thought in his notebook, planning to find that "author" first.

That would be the decisive factor.

....

The battlefield was a mess, with the air of death lingering everywhere.

Su Lun summoned the black crow again, took to the skies, and found a road back following the direction of Ghost Town.

But as he walked, he suddenly felt something abnormal in his body.

Looking at the data panel, he exclaimed in surprise, "My physical strength has actually increased? And it’s still continuing to grow..."

The displayed bodily data had skyrocketed by a large margin — strength, agility, neural response speed, resilience... it was an all-around increase, roughly by two or three tenths.

This would only happen during the injection of "X serum" for bloodline modification.

Originally, this would be a positive phenomenon.

However, Su Lun now frowned.

Because this increase was beyond his control.

How long it would last and in what direction it would grow were unpredictable.

Any uncontrolled body mutation could be called "mutation."

That is to say, he was now experiencing a "physical mutation."

The reason was naturally due to absorbing too much "demonic qi" and "Netherworld qi," which contaminated his body.

But due to certain factors, he had not completely mutated into a monster.

Checking the panel, Su Lun guessed it was his own "X serum" resisting the uncontrollable changes. The [Fallen Angel] was a genuinely divine-tier bloodline. From birth, they were gods. This was something lower beings could not compare with.

Just as he had suppressed the danger of a "mental mutation," he now found a new problem and felt somewhat troubled.

Nevertheless, he wasn’t too concerned about his own state at the moment.

Dragging on a life only possible by carrying the lives of two important friends didn’t seem worth celebrating or cherishing.

...

Su Lun walked on the mountain path at an unhurried pace.

Seeing the exaggerated signs of battle, images of fighting side by side with Qian Tiao flooded his mind, a mix of emotions: "Sister Qian Tiao’s strength was really exaggerated. I never expected she would even break through to the third stage of the [Rakshasa Woman]..."

The world he saw now was quite special — like watching a sci-fi movie that was both real and illusory. He could immerse himself in it as if it were the real world, or he could observe everything from the perspective of an outsider and see some additional things.

Thinking of talent, Su Lun suddenly remembered that his Laws of Death had also increased manifold in an instant.

Although he hadn’t broken through to any third-release state, there was a significant difference now.

A sudden insight struck Su Lun’s mind.

```

```

Oh...

In my hand, there is a sealed forbidden item that requires control under the laws of Death?

The "Xiupunos’s Night Scythe," this formidable weapon had been by my side since the days in Old Spiriton Outer City, helping me through one fatal crisis after another.

Though it slices through space fissures, the actual force driving it is the laws of Death. (Power, elements, once strong enough, can all create space fissures.)

A replica of the reaper’s weapon is naturally governed by the laws of Death.

Because using this sealed item carries a very dangerous curse backlash, previously I could only use undead to control it, using them to divert the backlash.

But now, as soon as I grasped it, I immediately felt a sensation of effortless ease, as if there was some inexplicable "handiness."

It’s as if I could control it?

Upon closer identification, I finally confirmed that I had reached the usage threshold for this sealed item!

"That means... from now on, I can use this black scythe at will, without worrying about curse backlash?"

I suddenly felt a sense of unexpected joy.

This is completely serendipitous.

Although I am now adept at controlling undead to use the black scythe, their endurance has its limits.

An undead could, at most, swing the blade five times, and I had to control the arc of the strike.

Handy, but wasteful of corpses, and superfluous motions that easily alert opponents.

Yet now, holding it myself, I can hack away as I please!

Ten slashes, a hundred slashes, a thousand slashes...

Until the target is chopped into mush.

I held the black scythe and casually swung once, a nearby rock was abruptly bisected by the space fissure.

I carefully sensed the feeling of using it, clearly capturing the entire process of the laws of Death surging from the scythe, activating the alchemy matrix and runes emitting energy fluctuations, and thought, "Hmm... it’s not completely evading the curse’s backlash. There will still be some if the cutting surface is too large. Nevertheless, this meets the normal need for slashing."

The scythe finally feels right in my hand.

And... something else that’s different, previously using the black scythe was just about leveraging its inherent properties.

Now, having infused it with the laws of Death, I can control even the ripping degree of the space fissure!

It’s like a sharp sword which is completely different in the hands of a swordsman compared to a layperson.

I feel like I’ve gotten stronger.

But at the same time, I let out a long sigh.

If I had been stronger before, maybe I could have changed something.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

...

I wrapped the black scythe in a burlap bag and slung it over my back.

I entered the Ghost Town once more.

The author of this "Cursed Novel" is Fujiwara Hayato, and I know he is key to breaking the curse on this space.

I have harvested many random skills before, and although I’m no great writer, I have learned some of the common knowledge of novelists.

Therefore, though I’m not sure if Fujiwara Hayato will be in this Netherworld after his death, I can definitely find a "Fujiwara Hayato within the book."

In any novel, there’s always a character that reflects some aspect of the "author," be it emotions, cognition, or values...

Usually, that’s the protagonist of the novel.

But in this "Netherworld," I haven’t found any main character.

So, I must search within the Ghost Town.

Different from the times I came here before with trepidation, as I now enter the city, my heart is calm and still.

As long as I don’t want to, these ghosts and monsters seem as if they cannot see me at all.

```

```

He was an existence that had "transcended" this world.

The number of ghosts and monsters in the city had clearly decreased a lot, especially the powerful presences that were few and far between.

The previous battle had also caused Ghost Town to suffer a great deal.

Su Lun kept walking, walking, watching the various ghosts, and spirits of the dead like watching a movie.

Suddenly, as he passed a teahouse, he heard a storyteller narrating a "love story between a noble lady and a poor boy."

Su Lun stopped.

Because he was too eye-catching.

As if the entire world in his eyes was black and white, with only that person being in color.

Su Lun knew, he had found the person.

It was a monster, called the Storyteller.

They say he was a destitute scholar with some talent but neglected by others. After his death, his resentment turned him into a monster who kept telling stories, hoping to gain people’s recognition.

The man saw Su Lun and, as if awakening from a deep dream, his eyes immediately became clearer.

He gave Su Lun a slight smile and said, "Has someone finally come to look for me?"

....

Su Lun and the man sat by the window on the second floor of the teahouse, looking at the dejected storyteller with a complex gaze.

He had seen this fellow several times before but never once realized that this monster might be the key to getting out.

Clearly, the clues lay within his stories, yet without having gone through the events himself, he couldn’t grasp their deeper meanings.

Su Lun sighed and asked, "Should I address you as Mr. Fujiwara, or Mr. Gustav?"

The middle-aged man said indifferently, "Either is fine. Because they are both my names, yet I am neither of them. I am just a story character with a bit of obsession, that’s all."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun pondered for a moment, then directly asked, "Can you tell me, what exactly is going on with the Netherworld?"

Even now, it all seemed like a complete "world."

It was precisely because of these past days’ experiences that Su Lun’s understanding of this world had deepened, making it all the more inconceivable.

Fujiwara Hayato chuckled and said, "But I know what puzzles you."

Pausing for a moment, he continued, "Actually, no matter how knowledgeable a person is or how many principles one understands, it’s impossible to construct a completely flawless world. So, I thought of a method to use external forces to help me complete this world. That’s why I turned the novels I wrote into cursing artifacts, to collect some souls of the dead. Those souls live and practice in the ’Netherworld Country.’ Everything they experience is to perfect and simulate this world. It will become more and more perfected..."

"..."

Su Lun found this explanation to utterly overturn some of his understandings.

This guy actually used such a method to extrapolate and create a world?

This means, what’s the difference with that of a god?

Fujiwara Hayato said, "Don’t be so surprised. And don’t think that this act is heartless. The laws of the world are very peculiar. Especially in the eyes of us magicians, all energy is in one ’pot,’ merely in different forms; the essence isn’t much different, including you and me. This isn’t entirely my own idea either—I remember it was during an adventure, in an ancient ruin, where I discovered the secret techniques of the gods..."

"..."

Su Lun listened somewhat confused, only half-understanding.

He was very interested in this method of world creation.

Fujiwara Hayato had said only half but did not continue, "However, I can’t explain too much to you... To ensure I keep certain specific memories and not forget the person I am waiting for. So, there are some questions I can’t answer for you. If you want to know those truths, you’ll have to verify them yourself."

On hearing this, Su Lun suddenly thought of Katusya’s great-grandmother whom he had met before.

She bought so many of Fujiwara Hayato’s novels; naturally, the two knew each other.

While Su Lun was curious about their relationship,

he was more concerned about another issue.

He directly asked, "Previously, my companions died in battle, is there a way to resurrect them?"

Fujiwara Hayato looked at him with a half-smile, "It’s possible. But there’s a cost."

```