reincarnation npc, but tomorrow's ark

However, it seems that letting his apprentice broaden his horizons is a good choice now.

……

Thinking of this, Bai Ye looked up at Melansha and said, "Little Mei, you don't need to come over for the next few days. Get some rest and recover your health."

"……Eh?!"

Melantha's eyes first showed surprise, then as if she had thought of something, her gaze suddenly dimmed.

The girl looked dejected and said softly to Bai Ye, "I'm sorry, teacher, I've let you down."

Bai Ye blinked, wondering what the girl was thinking. After a moment, he realized, "Have you misunderstood something?"

"I haven't given up on you. I'm letting you rest and recuperate because I might need you to try on the power armor for training later. Also, there's an event in Lungmen at the end of the month that I want you to participate in."

Melantha's mood was in turmoil because of Bai Ye. She was speechless. This teacher was good, but he was too much of a mood killer.

Then she asked, somewhat puzzled, "Wasn't the letter just sent out?"

Her parents haven't agreed yet.

"Let's start preparing in advance. Communication is much faster now than before, so the news should arrive tomorrow."

In fact, Bai Ye had already started preparing before Melantha's letter was sent out.

And the progress is going very smoothly.

Of course, the power armor Melansa used for training afterward was not a customized version, but rather the standard power armor that White Night paid to order from Columbia, a general-purpose model used by the military.

This is how Bai Ye first came into contact with power armor.

Melantha's strength is actually not bad; her physical strength is even excellent, which is quite good compared to ordinary Terrans. She is not as weak and frail as some might think, so she is capable of manipulating power armor.

However, Bai Ye still planned to take it slow, since this big toy was quite dangerous, and every time, some smart players would post videos of themselves being killed by power armor.

For players, it's just for entertainment, but for the native inhabitants of Terra, it's an absolute disaster.

Chapter Sixty-Two World

Dr. Kal'tsit stood on the shore of Iberia, looking up at the sky.

The sky over Iberia is always overcast. It is the border between land and sea, and although natural disasters occur here, they are not common.

The suffering of the Iberian people stems from the sea.

Then, an old but still loud and powerful voice rang out from the side: "We often talk about this 'land'... This word is popular because of its narrowness."

"Did we have some magnificent language in some ancient time to describe everything in the world, to describe everything that our lives touch?"

"This great word encompasses the land and the sky, and the vast oceans that are little known to the landlocked nations... With just the opening and closing of lips, a single word might describe the progress of life over trillions of years? Where in human thought does this word reside, Kal'tsit?"

The questioner was an elderly man standing next to Dr. Kal'tsit. He was wearing the uniform of the Inquisition and was no different from the Grand Inquisitor that Bai Ye and the others had seen before.

The old man had a swift sword hanging at his waist, a hand cannon on his other side, and an Iberian lantern in his hand.

He was originally a high-ranking member of the Iberian State Church, but after the Great Quiet, he relinquished the papacy granted to him by the royal family and, together with other saints, reorganized the State Church into the Inquisition.

These founders of the original courts were called saints.

The old man standing next to Kal'tsit is the only surviving saint in Iberia.

Carmen Iberia.

……

Kal'tsit did not answer immediately. She silently looked at the distant sea, and then said, "You must know."

“I know quite a lot, yet I still ask day after day. No one can escape the unknown, and the unknown will forever torment humanity.” Saint Carmen seemed to only want to get answers from Dr. Kal'tsit.

Dr. Kal'tsit fell silent again, and after a long while, she slowly spoke: 'The World' (ancient Sarkaz).

"Is that the language of the Sarkaz?" Saint Carmen pressed his brow; he hadn't heard that language in a long time.

Modern Sarkaz people probably wouldn't even know this word.

Dr. Kal'tsit nodded.

“Hmm, I thought you would say… ‘the world’ (Sargonian).”

Saint Carmen also uttered an ancient word, a word that is now rarely mentioned in the days when the royal city is hidden by endless yellow sand.

"How strange, a self-proclaimed doctor named Felin, whose first reaction is to use the language of the demons." Saint Carmen looked at Kal'tsit with a probing gaze.

Although it wasn't the first time the two had met, and they had known each other for some time, Carmen still couldn't see through the doctor's true nature.

She was incredibly knowledgeable, possessing knowledge of countless taboo subjects, including truths that had long been buried.

She was left alone in Iberia, carrying only an ancient perforated stone with her, yet she was fearless, as if she had never worried about her safety.

Perhaps she was certain the court wouldn't do anything to her? Or perhaps she had a trump card up her sleeve to deal with any sudden attack from the court?

If it's the former, then she's either a madman or a fool, after all, no one would put their life in a position where they depend on the attitude of others to continue; if it's the latter, then who can guess her trump card?

“Your identity is like a cloud on the sea, ever-changing,” Saint Carmen couldn’t help but say.

Kal'tsit remained silent.

Her fingers traced the texture of a stone in her pocket. She could feel the weathered lines and ancient carvings on its surface.

Although she didn't need it... what Bai Ye left her still gave her peace of mind. Even in the most dangerous moments, she would be certain that she was safe and sound.

-------------------------------------

Bai Ye himself had never seen a real saint. He was also unaware that far away in Iberia, Kal'tsit had already met with Carmen.

His attention was entirely focused on the power armor in front of him.

This is a Colombian military powered armored vehicle. It is an early model, but it is also very rare, with not many serving in the military.

White Night paid a hefty price to acquire one from his Colombian military friend, Colonel Rambo, who had dealt with the governor's mess before, even went so far as to fake the power armor's scrapping process.

To prevent unnecessary trouble, Bai Ye even flew to Colombia this morning to bring this big toy back.

“It’s really an old relic…” Bai Ye tapped the outer shell of the thing.

"Nonsense, this thing is not very common even in Colombia..." Kroos rubbed her hands together, circling around the big toy, looking like she was drooling.

"It's just an old model of power armor..." Bai Ye clicked his tongue. This thing was already a very old antique for him, who came from the sixth version. After all, players are like this: once they replace something, they will never use it again. They only pursue the newest and strongest.

This thing is bulky, slow, has an outdated system, and even requires manual aiming...

Although Bai Ye was unimpressed, the engineering director of Rhodes Island was overjoyed. Kroos was already helping Bai Ye complete the research on the power armor's built-in terminal system, and now they had a genuine military-grade power armor.

The guy instantly forgot all about Dr. Kal'tsit. What did he care about that old woman's current state? He just wanted to have some fun with this toy.

"Can I drive it?" Kroos gently stroked the outer shell.

"Whatever, just don't hurt yourself—look, I've seen the sealed experimental videos. Some people's waists were broken, and others' necks were suddenly twisted to the right by the armor, killing them instantly."

"If it were Himeru, there wouldn't be any problem with her neck," Kroos joked.

Is this considered a racial joke?

If Himeru heard this, she would probably hang Kroos with a drone. Bai Ye wouldn't stop her; in fact, she would raise her hand in agreement.

"This...is this power armor?"

Unlike the indifferent Bai Ye and the fanatical Kroos, Melantha's eyes were filled with only curiosity.

The machine in front of me is huge and heavy, and it looks powerful.

There were also some messy graffiti painted on the right side of the chest, which looked somewhat ferocious against the backdrop of the protruding armor.

"Relax, this is just a training tool for you... It's too ineffective in actual combat and not suitable for you to drive."

Bai Ye smiled and patted Melanie on the shoulder.

Chapter Sixty-Three: A Terrifying Woman

(The new rogue should be the demon... By the way, the woman from Magellan's story collection should be able to land by now, right? This satellite should be the longest-lasting one.)

-------------------------------------

"Kal'tsit, I've asked you a few questions these past few days?"

Saint Carmen stood on the rocks, watching the waves crash against the embankment. These relics from the Iberian Golden Age continue to serve their purpose today.

Without a second thought, Kal'tsit had already conceived the answer in her mind: "One hundred and twenty-three."

She was an eccentric person; her mind was like a terminal. She could answer questions that ordinary people had no recollection of and found difficult to answer.

No wonder Aya from the band "Sunset Gone" thought Kal'tsit was some kind of machine, an X-ray machine with temperature.

However, this answer, which would surprise most people, did not move Saint Carmen, as if he already knew that Kal'tsit would be able to answer it.

He simply began to speak slowly: “One hundred and twenty-three questions, one hundred and twenty-three years. In the courtroom today… there is no judge older than me.”

"Most of them died in battle, very few died of old age, and a few succumbed to cowardice in this endless torment. Their fates were not good."

“I have witnessed everything in Iberia. I have seen the fleets set sail and heard the trembling voice of the Victorian envoy. The Great Stillness destroyed everything, like waking from a great dream. All Iberians are still immersed in hatred of the disaster and bewilderment at the shattering of their dreams.”

In fact, Carmen didn't know whether the next generation of Iberians was lucky or unlucky—they didn't experience the golden age, so they didn't have such a big sense of loss; but precisely because they didn't experience the golden age, they were plunged into suffering from the very beginning of their lives.

Dr. Kal'tsit suddenly spoke up: "The Liberians are not a long-lived race. Even the healthy, long-lived Liberian gods cannot bear the calamity that Iberia is currently suffering from."

"Your longevity is a miracle. The miracle created by the Inquisition also endowed you with an unprecedented sense of mission. In an era when thought and glory began to fall, you and those original members of the Inquisition were revered as 'saints'."

Carmen shook her head: "'Saint,' the title once used to guide the world is like a piece of firewood... now only ashes remain. Of the one hundred and twenty-three seasons, it seems only winter has left a mark on me. I have seen many truths, but I can't remember what spring looks like."

The fire was gradually dying down, but the king was nowhere to be seen.

The only saint sustains this nation.

"I don't know how much longer I can hold on."

“Kal'tsit, I have lived to this day, for one hundred and twenty-three years. I have asked you one hundred and twenty-three questions, each corresponding to one of my past insights. Yet you still answered every single one of my questions. You know everything I know.”

Saint Carmen spoke, her gaze sharpening as she fixed it on Doctor Kal'tsit: "Humanity advances. Secrets will forever emerge, but knowledge cannot surpass the high wall called 'the known.' And what we fight against is on the other side of that wall, a dark, shadowy forest. And you, Kal'tsit, do you belong to this side of the wall... or to the other side of the forest?"

"It depends on you," Dr. Kal'tsit said in a flat tone.

"Heh, humph..." The old man couldn't help but laugh after hearing the answer. "You even know how many leaves are on that tree over there, you terrible woman."

Dr. Kal'tsit stood before the saint.

The two looked like an old man and a young man, and in fact, they were indeed an old man and a young man.

However, although he looks old, he is not as old as another person who has experienced the passage of time.

The Blood Demoness of Rhodes Island has lived for an unimaginable amount of time, while Kal'tsit's age is even more astonishing. If ordinary people knew her age, they would probably be tempted to find out as well.

This period of time is enough to leave a visible mark on the planet's annual rings.

"The saints of Iberia are still the pinnacle that human beings can reach, without a doubt. But you have transcended that realm, so you are no ordinary person. Perhaps you have used some special magic to prolong your life, perhaps you have inherited some ancient identity, or perhaps you have a soul that once made a great vow."

"Even if faith is nothing more than a deception of ideas, we once firmly believed in hope. And tragically, until old age defeats us one by one, we still cannot find a solution to the problem."

"Those immortals who overcome aging by relying on their own Originium Arts or other means will only be more afraid of the long years of endless torment from their enemies."

After he finished speaking, both of them fell silent.

After a period of silence between them, Dr. Kal'tsit suddenly broke the silence: "Your words remind me of a... junior."

"He may have a different view of the 'unknown' than you."

“That day, we stood under the night sky looking up at the stars. I told him that the ‘world’ beneath our feet is like a grain of sand in a vast ocean. Perhaps this world is everything to us, but to the starry sky, it is nothing.”

"We don't even understand the world we live in, let alone the almost infinite unknown beyond it. It is an incomparably dark forest, and beyond the high walls lies an endless unknown wilderness."

After a pause, Kal'tsit continued, "Do you know how he answered?"

Saint Carmen did not speak, but listened quietly.

Dr. Kal'tsit continued, "He said, 'The universe holds unknowns, which is a joy for us because it represents an adventure that awaits us to unravel those mysteries.'"

"Stars are neither a figment of imagination nor a myth. Even if we can never reach them, their light still shines through, and no matter how much time passes, we can still see it."

As Dr. Kal'tsit recounted her conversation with White Night, perhaps without even realizing it herself, a smile appeared on her face as she spoke.

Saint Carmen looked at the woman in front of her.

This was the first time this seemingly young monster had shown a smile, and it was a genuine, heartfelt joy.

Then, he pondered Kal'tsit's words: "Has he ever experienced hardship?"