The System Contract

A silver metal sphere floated in the center of the meditation room, and the countless components around it seemed to be attracted by an invisible magnetic field, trembling slightly and resonating with a deep harmony.

Buzz--!

The first to respond was "Tear of the Shattered Stars ".

Gradually, it turned into countless tiny, shimmering powders, merging into the silver metal sphere.

A dazzling yet chilling silver-blue beam of light suddenly erupted from inside the sphere, piercing straight towards the dome!

The entire Merrick Castle and even the First Administrative Star felt a slight tremor emanating from the spatial structure.

The intricate components forged by the player also began to move.

It was not simply physically installed, but rather as if it received a call from the core, transforming one by one into the purest torrent of data and a stream of condensed metal particles.

Finally, it is wrapped around a metal sphere, integrated, and reconstructed.

With each component integrated, the energy within the meditation room becomes more concentrated.

Until the last component was incorporated, the energy inside the room surged exponentially.

This is Jiji's true advancement, and at the same time, the energy of the Ancient Machine Holy Grail also comes into play.

A beam of silver-blue light seemed to be injected, as if as a blessing upon life.

As the last ray of holy light merged into the sphere, the two rare treasures accumulated over many years Core of Hermes and the String of Orpheus, suddenly transformed into chaotic light and shadow.

The sphere itself began to emit a strange pulsation, each pulsation precisely penetrating the spatial barrier.

In the distant Babylon Galaxy, the Divine Rise Galaxy (formerly the Blue Cluster Galaxy)... all the "Evil Shadow Mechanical Birds " belonging to Jiji, regardless of their state, seemed to have received a supreme command, and at the same time raised their heads, emitting a sharp and unified resonance!

Boom!!

A deafening roar, not existing on the physical plane, resounded deep within Lister's soul.

As the leader of the Symbiosis Contract, he naturally learned of Jiji's advancement immediately.

As expected, there is no doubt about Kavin's expertise in mechanical engineering; he is absolutely reliable.

A torrent of energy poured in, and after several days, Jiji finally completed its initial advancement.

[Jiji (Rank S) (Symbiosis Contract - Obligor, Mother)]

[Level: LV181]

[Class: Mech Soul Overlord (Mechanical)]

[HP: 13740302/13740302 (Shared with Symbiote during combat)]

[Stamina: 3741873/3741873]

[Attributes: Strength: 362, Stamina: 181, Intelligence: 362, Agility: 362]

[Skill: Death Resistance (SSS) LV181: When the host's health is below 5%, forcibly remove all negative effects, quickly restore health to 30%, increase the host's four-dimensional attributes by 60 points, and exempt the host from any direct kill judgment.]

...]

[Overall Rating: S]

After becoming Hegemon, Jiji's aura was greatly enhanced.

However, most of the improvements seem to come not from the mother organism itself, but from the strengthening of the daughter organism.

The only significant benefit to Lister's individual combat strength is the immunity to being killed during Death Resistance.

This kind of judgment is something that only he himself possesses; no one else has ever been seen to have it.

Of course, if this judgment is sensed during an engagement, the opponent is already dead.

The gate to dark matter was opened from the inside by Lister.

Lilina, standing outside the door, was already pale and her legs were weak as she leaned against the doorframe.

The aura that Jiji possessed after its advancement meant nothing to Lister, but it was a different story for an ordinary Class Holder like Lilina.

Even the faint, almost imperceptible aura emanating from him, at such close range, made her feel as if she were facing a raging torrent of steel from the universe, almost suffocating her.

"Go and rest."

"I have nothing to do here, you don't need to stay on standby any longer."

Watching Lilina leave, Lister felt a surge of interest in nurturing her.

Lilina is only at level 14 now, which is extremely fast for someone her age.

Unfortunately, their combat strength is somewhat lacking, barely reaching B-level.

It's time to let her stay in the Eye of Ashes Barrier as well, otherwise, with the increasing number of Overlord Tier powerhouses in our forces, it won't be good if we can't even withstand their aura.

Two years have passed in the blink of an eye, and the purge of almost all the super powers is nearing its end.

The entire universe is now completely silent, and even Overlord Tier powerhouses dare not be too active in the universe.

The only ones who dare to operate actively among the various factions are mostly intelligence agents of those factions.

In the current situation, even though the Seed of Eternity is still thirty years away from its final arrival.

However, it is difficult for anyone to predict whether World-Ending Level war will start ahead of schedule.

As Lister had originally envisioned, the war would truly begin with his battle against the Emerald Royal Court.

But in this eerie atmosphere, the entire universe seems as if it could ignite at any moment.

Even he himself is finding it difficult to control the situation at present.

The highest level of encryption was transmitted, and upon connection, an elegant thorn emblem lit up first.

The holographic projection unfolded, Grand Duke of the Blood Oath Arkas, still wearing his Dark Night Thorn Robe, exchanged information with him with a rather serious expression.

"The Void Corridor and the Star Machine Civilization have intensified their localized operations."

"Recently, two more Overlord Tier have joined the battle."

What's meant to happen will happen eventually. I thought the Void Corridor could hold off Curtis's death.

It seems they couldn't resist any longer, as two more Overlord Tier have joined the battle, bringing the total number of Hegemon to seven fighting near the Star Machine Civilization's star system.

At this level, if either side were to bring about World Annihilation, a great war would likely be immediately ignited.

"The Eternal Night Royal Court and the Spirit Remains Star Abyss have remained completely silent, staying within the star system since the cleanup operation ended."

"However, they have cooperated with the Emerald Royal Court in the past, and they will most likely side with the Emerald Royal Court this time as well."

As a long-established superpower, the Crimson Covenant's information network is more comprehensive than that of the Machine-Slaying Federation.

These two major forces are closely allied due to their geographical location, and their alliance is truly strong.

Therefore, it was the most stable character in the original World Annihilation War.

If you don't actively provoke conflict, the combined forces of the undead army and the Eternal Night Apostles alone will deter most other forces from invading.

As for the current situation, based on intelligence that the Machine-Slaying Federation and the Church of the End formed an alliance.

Most of the remaining forces will concentrate around the Emerald Royal Court, since the Emerald Royal Court gives the major forces more peace of mind compared to the Church of the End.

The previously fragmented small groups have gradually become clearer, forming two large groups.

After Arkas finished sharing his information, Lister also revealed the latest intelligence to him.

"Melinda Yongcui and Varalos Yongcui of the Emerald Royal Court have been revived."

The Gray Domain Galaxy is not far from the Emerald Royal Court, making intelligence gathering within the court much easier.

These two World Annihilation powerhouses are Aiselyn Yongcui's parents.

Similar to the major super powers, most of the time these veteran world- World-Ending Level powerhouses are either asleep, cultivating, or wandering in other dimensions. In most of these powers, only one young World Annihilation powerhouse is in charge of the development of the power.

After all, beings at the World-Ending Level have long lifespans, and improving them is even more difficult, requiring years of accumulation.

Like Lister, his ability to level up rapidly through player interaction is unique in the entire universe.

"What about Sailianna? Any news about her?"

There's absolutely no news about the person you're talking about.

Sailianna, the true leader of the Emerald Royal Court, is known as the "Shadow of the Root Network."

Lister had never witnessed the opponent's true strength, but he knew that the opponent was a powerful figure who could rival the Church of the End.

Unfortunately, Lister's intelligence personnel received no information about this person.

"It has most likely already recovered."

Lister was currently making his judgment on Arkas.

After all, the members of the Church of the End have now also awakened, and it can be said that all sides are now just waiting to be ignited by a bucket of fire.

After the regular exchange of information, Lister returned to the meditation room.

He sat cross-legged, his attention already focused on the system panel.

Two years have passed, and the ninth act is drawing to a close. The server will be shut down again for updates in one hour.

Among the players, the number of Quasi-Hegemon has exceeded 23.

Soul Crystals are indeed valuable; for players, they now offer a chance to reach the Overlord Tier, something that was merely a pipe dream in their previous lives.

Lister waited quietly until the player logged off.

Countless messages appeared again in the personal information panel.

Reports continued to arrive that "The Scourge Legion has entered hibernation again."

Lister only opened his personal information panel after the messages had completely died down.

The vast sea of experience points finally stopped increasing.

This is the greatest gift the Scourge Legion has given him during its campaigns and struggles for the entire Machine-Slaying Federation.

He immediately brought up the control panel, his gaze calm and serene.

The next moment, that familiar, strangely clear and refreshing sensation spread throughout my body.

Experience points began to drop rapidly.

Notification: Congratulations, your level has been increased.

[Level: LV230→LV240]

[Saber Soul Mastery LV230→LV240], [Merrick Saber Technique: LV230→...]...

Skills improved rapidly as a massive amount of experience points were consumed.

The thrill of his ever-increasing strength and continuous growth once again captivated him.

Once the last skill was fully upgraded, Lister's experience points returned to a slump.

Fortunately, he had enough experience points as he expected, so he didn't get up immediately.

Instead, he took out a dozen or so special fruits from his pocket.

[Eternal Fruit of Life (SS): Powerful life energy that can increase all attributes of beings at Fourth Advancement or higher by 1 point and increase lifespan by 3000 years (Note: Only those Class Holder Fourth Advancement or higher can consume this, and it can be consumed repeatedly)]

This is a resource regularly contributed by the Lord of Qingteng.

Having become an ally of the Tree of Eternity, this parasite of the multidimensional universe certainly possesses quite a few valuable items.

This is truly a grand gesture to ensure the successful birth and planting of the Seed of Eternity.

The Fruit of Life tastes incredibly sweet, and after chewing and swallowing it, pure life energy immediately surges forth.

The feeling of this enhancement is in no way inferior to that of Game System.

And it lasted even longer, for three consecutive days.

Lister then finished consuming the Fruit of Life.

Looking at the attribute column, it's all 480 points, indicating that he has reached the limit of improvement in the Fourth Advancement stage.

Pure energy surged, condensed, and compressed within his body.

Each tiny cycle creates subtle ripples in the space.

Of course, what excited him even more was the task prompt next to his avatar frame.

Really!

There is Fifth Advancement after the Fourth Advancement.

This means that level 240 is not the maximum level.

Congratulations! You have met the requirements for job change and are currently accepting the job change quest.

"Notice: Basic attributes and all skills are now fixed. You cannot upgrade existing skills before completing the job change quest. (Note: You can continue to upgrade skills and learn new skills before completing the job change quest.)"

"Notification: The unique characteristics of the alien life form Lister Merrick have been detected. The Mastermind District Seventy-One has initiated a takeover and job transfer mission."

"Notice: Due to the unique nature of the fifth job advancement, the upper limit of individual strength will break the tolerance limit of a single universe. The issuance of job advancement quests requires the player's consent to an exclusive contract."

Notification: The exclusive contract is being drafted. It has been completed and is ready for review.

This series of notices came as Lister's surprise.

This was the first time he had ever seen a prerequisite contract required before issuing a job change quest.

However, judging from the text information in the notice, the current limit of the universe's power level is indeed level 240, with a total of four evolutions.

This fifth evolution will transcend the limitations of a single universe, essentially becoming a multi-dimensional being.

Based on Lister's current understanding, the Tree of Eternity is probably the only one that meets the criteria and has already become a special life form at the Fifth Advancement.

Ordinary life forms, including indigenous people, are probably one in ten thousand capable of breaking the power limits of this universe.

The true limit of life is probably that we can't even reach the opportunity for the fifth evolution.

From this perspective, he gained a huge advantage by receiving the job change quest issued by the system.

His job advancement and evolution have always been attributed to special support from the system.

However, this fifth job change is different. Even the Game System is unwilling to help and support it for nothing. Instead, there is a preliminary contract.

"The exclusive contract of the alien life form Lister:"

Article 1 of the Contract: The alien life form Lister Merrick must unconditionally side with the player's universe.

Article Two of the Contract: The alien life form Lister Merrick must guide the player to truly integrate into the current universe.

Article 3 of the contract:...

Article 314 of the Contract: This contract will be constructed by the Power of the Planes. Any violation will be subject to determination by the Mastermind District Seventy-One regarding whether to use the Power of the Planes to restrict or punish the breach.

All 314 articles are about him personally and the player universe.

Although there is a lot of content, most of it is quite broad.

The core idea is simple: Lister needs to integrate into the current universe, centering on the player's world's universe.

These contracts alone have confirmed Lister's original suspicions.

The so-called player universe is indeed merging with the current game universe.

Moreover, the Power of the Plane is indeed powerful, and it is the energy that the system can truly utilize. In essence, the main brain may be the core origin of the player's universe.

Lister carefully read through all the clauses again, as was typical of the system.

There were no hidden traps, and the contract was explained clearly.

It's more about a biased stance, at most offering some assistance to the player's life form.

These were all within Lister's expectations; he would never abandon the power of the players.

Without the help of the Game System, it would be almost impossible for him to find the opportunity for the fifth evolution on his own.

He certainly wouldn't miss this precious fifth job change opportunity.

"Congratulations, Lister Merrick, your exclusive contract has been signed and is now in effect."

"The exclusive fifth job advancement quest is currently being notarized, and participants are being drawn and distributed."