In short:
'Cipher' and Ruan Mei successfully convinced Herta.
No, it wasn't exactly "convincing"—once Herta understood 'Cipher's' current predicament, she became the one who couldn't wait to start.
Of course, Screwllum and Divine Herta joined in as well.
Screwllum had presumably declined Zandar's invitation; after all, with several Genius Society colleagues right here who got along so well, there was no need to go looking for trouble by collaborating with Zandar.
Naturally, no one knew exactly what those two had discussed in private, and no one pried.
Once Screwllum arrived, the group began to marvel at 'Cipher's' divine form.
While it wasn't their first time encountering an Aeon—Noa had been hanging over Herta City for quite a while now—this was the first time they could actually get close enough to conduct research.
So, even if the subject wasn't perfectly aligned with their specific fields, everyone threw themselves into the work.
As for Madam Herta, although she was annoyed that a crowd had once again invaded her home and disturbed her peace, she decided not to hold a grudge considering the research subject.
After all, when all was said and done, her place was indeed the safest.
Meanwhile, 'Cipher' didn't join the crowd in researching herself.
She was focused on studying the Elation Equation.
Even if she fully deciphered it, she had no intention of using it to challenge Aha for anything.
However, the dozen or so factors of Amphoreus were all born from the same logic.
Theoretically, the Path Equations that came with the character cards drawn from the system would likely follow that same underlying framework.
To eventually understand her own target equation, 'Cipher' decided she had to wrap her head around this Elation Equation first.
--+--
A few days passed.
--+--
[Roleplay System]
[Name: Bai Ming (Cipher)]
[Lifespan: ∞ + 8 days (Roleplaying)]
[Transformable Characters: Big Herta, Acheron, Celenova, Jingliu, Ruan Mei, Sparkle, Hertatomb, Lord Ravager - Jingliu, Young Herta, Robin (Charge: 90.9%), Artoria (Charge: 88.7%), Cyrene · Fuli (Charge: 11.9%), Cipher (In Use)]
[Available Pulls: 5 (14.1%)]
--+--
In just two days, the number of pulls had increased by one, reaching five.
Right after the number changed, a new message popped up on the panel:
--+--
[Host requirement detected. Enhanced Gacha Function is now active.]
[5 Pulls: Guaranteed character from a specific faction. 10 Pulls: Guaranteed Emanator or lower-tier character.]
--+--
"..."
This panel actually has this feature?
'Cipher' was stunned as she read the message. So this thing really does have a "pity" system.
Five pulls to choose a faction, ten pulls for a guaranteed high-tier drop.
She focused on how these "factions" were categorized and found the system incredibly flexible.
For instance, she could choose Pathstriders of a certain Path, or members belonging to the Interastral Peace Corporation.
It could be divided by Path or by organization.
From massive interstellar powers down to members of a specific organization on a single planet, everything was selectable.
She could choose the Chrysos Heirs of Amphoreus—which would include not just demigods like Aglaea, but even NPC Chrysos Heirs—or she could narrow it down to Okhema, which would even allow her to pull members of the Senate.
Of course, if the selected range was too weak or too restrictive, the selection wouldn't work.
For example, when she tried to select something overly specific like "Romantic Titans of Amphoreus through the ages," the system informed her it wasn't permitted.
It seemed there were no easy loopholes to exploit.
As for the ten-pull guaranteed character, it was straightforward.
Theoretically, anyone who wasn't an Aeon could be pulled.
However, certain beings who had begun the process of Ascension or had drawn close to Aeonhood—even if they hadn't technically left the rank of Emanator—were off-limits.
For instance, Sunday during the Penacony incident, when he was attempting to revive Ena; at that point, the man was already on the path to becoming an Aeon, so he couldn't be selected.
"But... why are there no conditions for pulling an Aeon? Is it not allowed?"
'Cipher' didn't think the system was incapable of handling Aeons.
Since the panel was bold enough to release an Elation Equation, it clearly understood what an Aeon was.
Perhaps the "Aeon Character Cards" were just too significant? If a new Aeon suddenly popped up on an existing Path, a war would likely break out immediately.
'Cipher' didn't know what the restrictions were, and the panel offered no explanation.
The feature had only triggered because she wanted it; it was anything but "smart" AI.
Still... how should she pull now?
'Cipher' glanced at her panel.
Five pulls.
She could lock onto the Amphoreus Titans and gamble right now. But the problem was that among the twelve Titans, the odds of hitting the two she wanted were a bit low.
Since she couldn't narrow it down specifically to the Titans of Romance and Earth, pulling someone else would be a waste.
The Elation Equation alone was enough to keep her busy for a long time; if she pulled someone she couldn't use, she wouldn't have the time to study them anyway, and those five pulls would be gone.
Given how fast her progress bar was moving lately, she decided to wait.
It would be better to save up ten pulls and guarantee a drop for Aglaea.
Once the 'Cipher' card expired, she could just use one of her other characters that had finished cooling down.
As for her divine body... it wasn't that she couldn't use it, but the "scent" of Elation was just too strong.
She was currently the talk of the universe, and walking around in that form would be way too flashy.
Unless there was an emergency, she'd just pick a refreshed card and lay low. It wasn't like she had anything better to do.
--+--
On the other side of things, the Xianzhou Fanghu had been buzzing for the past two days.
If you asked why, the answer was obvious: Aha had manifested right there.
One moment Aha appeared on the Fanghu, and the next, a broadcast was blasted across the entire universe.
Who would believe the Fanghu knew nothing?
What's more, Xuanquan actually did know what was going on.
'Cipher' and Ruan Mei hadn't exactly hidden things from her during their discussions.
While Xuanquan didn't know every detail, she knew they had obtained something that drew Aha's scrutiny—and that scrutiny had revealed a potential Second Aeon.
Just thinking about an object that could make an Aeon lose their cool and strike personally made Xuanquan's breath quicken.
She almost regretted agreeing to let them visit the Fanghu at this time.
If only the appointment had been pushed back a year or so, they wouldn't be under the microscope of every major power in the galaxy.
Though other factions didn't dare do anything openly due to the strength of the Xianzhou Alliance, the number of spies sent into the shadows was staggering.
It was so bad that the average daily tourist count had surged.
Two days ago, after reporting the situation to the Alliance and contacting the High Elders of the other ships, Xuanquan had rushed back to the General's residence to take charge and guard against the influx of scouts.
Setting aside the fact that Xuanquan wasn't the type to sell out her allies, the fact that 'Cipher' could solve the Vidyadhara's reproductive crisis meant she would never trade that information for the Fanghu's peace.
Originally, Xuanquan had intended to ask 'Cipher' to help increase the newborn population on the Fanghu first, but before she could even get the request out, Aha had crashed the party.
Now, while the Vidyadhara population was technically a private matter that the Alliance shouldn't interfere with, it now involved an Aeon.
As allies living under the same banner, the Alliance had to take a formal stance.
Being both a Vidyadhara and a Xianzhou General, Xuanquan couldn't just act on her own; she could only watch them leave and wait to make contact later.
Before they left, however, Xuanquan and 'Cipher' had discussed how to handle the prying eyes of other factions. The final decision was to throw out a partial truth to bury the rest.
Thus, after several days of probing, the various factions received a piece of intelligence from the General's office on the Fanghu:
"Bai Ming and Ruan Mei intended to study the Scions of Permanence, and while achieving a breakthrough in Vidyadhara reproduction, they drew the attention of the Aeon of Elation?"
"Wow~ talk about nonsensical logic. That's definitely something that god of laughs would do," Sparkle giggled as she read the report.
Meanwhile, Diamond stared at the intelligence sent by his subordinates, lost in thought.
Could an issue involving a Path—like the inability of Permanence scions to reproduce—really be solved "in passing"?
Diamond admitted the breakthrough was significant, but what did that have to do with Elation? Did it get in your way? Why would you rush over there and turn the whole situation into this mess?
Diamond found the cause-and-effect relationship utterly bizarre.
But then again... He glanced at the grinning Sparkle beside him.
That was Aha, after all—the lunatic who nearly turned a worm into an Aeon.
For the most nonsensical entity in the universe, doing something completely illogical and purely for the "bit" actually fit Aha's personality perfectly. Even the actual Masked Fools didn't find it suspicious.
Furthermore, looking at the supporting evidence in the report, it was confirmed that the two had indeed gone to the Fanghu for the sake of Permanence.
There were even recorded sightings of a new dragon scion and several Vidyadhara eggs, lending the report an air of absolute authenticity. It seemed the facts were exactly as stated.
So, while Diamond still had his doubts, he accepted the explanation and organized the report to submit to the Board of Directors.
Many other organizations thought the same way.
It was that Aeon of Elation, after all.
Doing something like this was just par for the course.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL