Hyperdimensional Warlock

Chapter 4326 Merlin
After Mona accepted the mission, all Angel could do now was wait.

However, the waiting time was always a bit empty, so he simply switched to God's-eye view and took the initiative to contact Laplace, and talked to him about the fifth stage of the principal's exclusive mission, especially emphasizing the ten tasks to be assigned this time.

Upon hearing this, Laplace almost instantly realized that these ten tasks were actually aimed at the selection of subsequent management.

Angel nodded remotely, indicating his agreement.

"Moreover, each task comes with a clear countdown."

In other words, these ten tasks must be completed before the deadline!

Currently, only the "Opening Ceremony" and "Opening Ceremony Preparation Plan" are not subject to restrictions, and the specific timing is entirely up to them.

However, apart from these, all other tasks, whether related to people's livelihood and economy, departmental management, or creative tasks such as school emblem design, have a time limit of only seven days.

In other words, they must find suitable candidates for management positions within seven days, and get these people to take on the tasks and complete them successfully.

Laplace immediately understood: "The key now is to find people who can take on these tasks and also be competent in management."

Angell reiterated his agreement.

Of the three new members of the management team who joined the university, only Mona is somewhat useful at the moment; she can design the school and college emblems.

As for Lawrence and the water tower, they are completely unsuitable for these ten tasks at the moment.

Unfortunately, these ten tasks can only be undertaken by the management team.

“Although it’s more complicated than before, it’s not entirely unsolvable,” Laplace said calmly.

In her view, the biggest challenge was that the seven-day countdown was too rushed.

They say seven days, but in reality they have to be as fast as possible, because seven days is the time to close the case, but accepting and completing the task also takes time.

Laplace: "Ideally, we should gather enough people within three days... no, ideally today, and take on these ten missions."

"Today?" Angell was taken aback. "Can you even find them all?"

Laplace: "We can give it a try."

Next, Laplace cut off communication and began searching for "management staff who could fit into these ten tasks".

Angell originally thought it would be difficult to gather enough people in a day, but Laplace was more efficient than he expected. Just half an hour later, Laplace contacted Angell through the rabbit girl's rabbit doll.

"Any other questions?" Angell assumed Laplace had some questions to ask, or other ideas about the ten missions.

However, to Angell's surprise, Laplace had no problem with it. Instead, he said, "I have roughly found managers who can complete these ten tasks, but I still need to discuss the specific list with you. If it doesn't work out, I have a backup plan."

Angell was somewhat stunned.

Not only have they found a manager, but they can also negotiate? If someone is unqualified, they can be replaced?
Keep in mind that Mona's draft sketches haven't even been completed yet, while Laplace has not only found the right people but also has a backup plan?

"You tell me first."

Laplace didn't keep anyone in suspense and briefly explained the situation.

In those half hour, she actually only did one thing: she had the bunny girl go offline and contact Gleipnir.

Then, Gleipnir presented a solution.

"As you know, Gleipnir's main body is still over there in the Cloud Cave, holding real-time meetings and making arrangements with the leaders of various races."

Angel nodded. Because of the Calamity Puppet, Gleipnir, as the representative of the Dream Mirror, was stationed at the Cloud Cave Conference. He was responsible for allocating the number of Future Mirrors, coordinating the initial login points of various races, and arranging front-line positions with other leaders.

It's fair to say that Gleipnir is currently the busiest person at DreamWorks.

Laplace: "Gleipnir spoke about the City of Fools at the Cloud Cave meeting."

Angell raised an eyebrow: "It's been announced already?"

"It wasn't said at the main venue, but rather in a small circle she created herself. You can understand it as the people in this circle being people she selected and considered worthy of her acquaintance."

Gleipnir herself never cultivated these connections, nor did she harbor any personal motives for "connecting" with them.

To put it bluntly, the "worth associating with" she mentioned doesn't actually represent her personally, but rather Mengjing.

In her view, these people have a greater impact on the Dream Mirror and the Dream Crystal Origin than others.

After a brief explanation, Laplace continued, "After Gleipnir finished speaking, quite a few people at the meeting expressed interest in the City of Fools."

"Among them is Eya."

Angell's expression suddenly froze.

He had originally thought that most of those interested in the City of Fools were just doing Gleipnir a favor and joining in the fun.

But with Aya here, things are different.

He's Secretary Long!
He is like Laplace, standing at the very pinnacle of the Mirror Realm of Daylight.

"Secretary Ao Long also plans to enter the City of Fools?" Angell's expression was shocked.

Laplace: "Yes, but not Aea's true form, but one of his time-traveling bodies."

Eya's main body will continue to oversee the Cloud Cave meeting, and this time he plans to send in an avatar.

Secretary Long's incarnation? An image flashed through Angel's mind: "You mean... Butler Fan?"

Laplace shook his head: "No, Butler Fan usually only handles the Dragon Banquet. Ea decided to send in another incarnation of his, named Merlin..."

According to Laplace, many people were speechless when Ea mentioned the name of the body at the meeting.

Because Merlin is very famous.

He was a very famous scholar in the Undying Kingdom and made sweeping reforms to many of the kingdom's strategies.

He can be described as a powerful figure who never left the capital.

No one expected that such a renowned scholar would actually be the reincarnation of Secretary Long.
"Speaking of which, this is the first time I've known that Aya has such a time-traveling body..." Laplace remarked.

Laplace, as Ea’s personally certified “teacher,” knew him very well, but even she was surprised to learn that Merlin was actually related to him.

"Later, Ea explained..."

Merlin is a "selector" he created specifically for himself.

What does "selecting students" mean?
"Being picky about school" and "being picky about food" are opposites.

Simply put, Aya, as the Omniscient Dragon, presents himself to the outside world as someone who is almost omniscient, but in reality, he also has some subjects of knowledge that he doesn't like.

Just as some people are picky about food, he is picky about what he studies.

Angell understood this as well. Jon received a well-rounded education in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and practical aspects when he was young, but there were some subjects he naturally disliked, such as aristocratic etiquette, indirect politics, and art appreciation...

Although Angel now knows a little about these things, it was actually Jon who forced him to learn them.

"In order to make up for his picky learning, Ea created a picky learner to help him learn the subjects he didn't like."

Angel: "What subjects does Ea dislike?"

Laplace said meaningfully, "For example, city management."

Merlin was able to implement various reforms in the Undying City because he was an expert in city management, and his management was always practical.

This is why the management of the Undying City followed Merlin's reforms.

“Aea’s interest in the City of Fools also stemmed from Merlin,” Laplace said. “He felt that Merlin needed a freer stage to showcase his talents.”

To outsiders, Merlin's reforms in the Undying City appeared to be sweeping and radical. But in reality, only Merlin himself knew that his reforms were constrained at every turn.

After all, he was not the supreme decision-maker of the capital city; he held some executive power, not the final decision-making power.

The management of the Unfallen Royal City is deeply entrenched, with each faction having its own vested interest groups behind them.

Every reform measure Merlin proposed, even if it was just adjusting a simple policy on people's livelihood or optimizing a resource allocation process, had to go through layers of review.

Each of those restrictions, taken individually, is not fatal.

Perhaps a faction is demanding changes to a clause in the reform details in order to protect its own interests; perhaps a high-ranking official is slowing down the pace of implementation in order to balance power; or perhaps a group of interest groups is proposing some seemingly harmless additional conditions under the pretext of "maintaining stability".

"But there are just too many of these restrictions. Countless minor constraints overlap, forming an impenetrable net."

Each of these restrictions, taken individually, seems reasonable and even flawless. However, when they are put together, they have significantly diminished the sharpness of Merlin's reform blueprint.

Those seemingly major reform proposals are actually the product of "compromise after compromise".

Merlin was naturally unhappy about this.

“What he needs is a stage where he can fully exert his authority without having to compromise at every turn, and the emergence of the Fool’s Academy, in Aya’s view, is that opportunity.”

That concludes Laplace's discussion.

"That's why I'm discussing this with you, because Merlin wants a vice principal position."

Don't be fooled by the fact that the vice principal only has level 8 authority, which is still one level lower than the principal.

However, in practice, there is basically no difference between level 8 and level 9 permissions. The only difference lies in the right to use the rules.

In other words, if Angell weren't in the City of Fools, the vice-principal could easily turn this place into a one-man show.

Therefore, the position of vice principal is very important.

Although Angell was preparing to recruit a group of managers to complete these ten tasks, he actually wanted to recruit level 6 or 7 authority holders.

Laplace was aware of this as well, so after explaining Merlin's situation, she immediately added, "Do you think it's okay? If you still have concerns about the vice-principal position, you can say so directly, and I will refuse him."

Angel thought for a moment and replied, "I don't have any concerns. I'm just a little curious. If Merlin reveals his identity in the Undying City and says that he is the incarnation of Secretary Dragon, would the city's administrators refuse to give him face?"

Once Merlin reveals his identity, there won't be any obstacles at all.

Or is it that Secretary O'Brien doesn't want Merlin to reveal his identity?

“It has nothing to do with Aya. Aya herself doesn’t care. It’s Merlin who doesn’t want to reveal his identity. As for the reason…” Laplace suddenly paused, his expression a little strange. After a long while, he said, “Merlin and Aya don’t get along very well.”

Angell: "???"

Isn't Merlin Aya's incarnation? How could they not get along?

Laplace: "When I first heard this, I also found it strange. But Ea explained the reason: Merlin's incarnation is not a regular incarnation."

"Merlin's current body is somewhat similar to the situation of Luigi and Gleipnir."

The so-called "regular self" generally refers to the self at different times. Each self contains the "summary of past experiences" of the creature in the mirror.

Simply put, it refers to "me" at different times.

Similar to the bunny girl, she is a slice of Laplace's childhood.

Luigi and Gleipnir are two very special beings. Their essence was created by Laplace, but their cores are infused with external memories.

In other words, neither the bard Luigi nor the astrologer Gleipnir are Laplace's own memories, but rather memories she retrieved from the Sea of ​​Empty Mirrors.

They are based on real people.

Such a special time-body is extremely rare in the Mirror of Day. For a long time, Laplace even thought that he was the only one with such a special time-body.

I later learned that the Mirror Dragon clan also had similar time forms.

This applies to both Algaron's time-incarnation Benber and Ea's time-incarnation Merlin.

However, the special time-space form of the Mirror Dragon clan is slightly different from that of Luigi and Gleipnir.

Luigi and Gleipnir's memories were retrieved from the Sea of ​​Empty Mirrors; after being washed by the Sea of ​​Empty Mirrors, "impurities" such as subjective will have completely disappeared. Combined with Laplace's original talent, they became time travelers, and in terms of "consistency" with regular time travelers, they were no different.

In other words, Luigi and Gleipnir would not have any intention of deviating from the original body, nor would they have any conflict with it.

But the Mirror Dragon clan is different.

The reason they can create these special time-body entities is that they are extremely powerful, powerful enough to forcibly integrate external memories into the time-body entity...

However, although the foreign memories were forcibly integrated into the body, without being washed away by the Sea of ​​Emptiness, the impurities such as the subjective will, thought patterns, and code of conduct belonging to the "original owner" were not completely eliminated. Instead, they were like deeply buried seeds, slowly taking root and sprouting in the body of the current owner.

This could lead to some hidden dangers.

"So, the reason Merlin and Aya have a bad relationship is because of the hidden dangers of impurities not being completely eliminated?"

Laplace shook his head: "That's not it."

Angell: "?"

If you weren't influenced by the original owner's will, then why did you explain so much just now?
Laplace: "Those impurities of external will do exist, but Ea chose the right raw materials from the beginning."

Merlin, whom he chose, had a personality and underlying traits extremely similar to his own.

In Jinglong's research, if one chooses memory templates with similar personalities during special times, one can avoid the influence of impurities.

"So where exactly is the problem?"

Laplace said meaningfully, "The problem lies with Ea himself."

(End of this chapter)