"Memory Awakening"

Wojciech Belik took a deep breath, straightened his red robes, and was just about to press the doorbell when, accompanied by the roar of the airlock, the hatch opened and Nimrod's deep voice came through.

"Come in."

The middle-aged man with neat short brown hair froze for a moment. Considering all the Monarch's powers, it was not strange that he had sensed his arrival.

As the hatch closed, Wojciech said respectfully,

"My King, you summoned me."

Nimrod gave a slight nod. "You completed the work I gave you well. I have decided to grant you a reward."

"It is my honor to serve you."

Wojciech bowed. As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the golden potion in the giant's outstretched left palm.

His brown eyes trembled. After a moment of silence, he picked up the potion and tipped his head back to drink it.

As the potion entered his stomach, Wojciech's entire body shook, and an explosion of knowledge erupted within his mind.

With "Memory Awakening," he perfectly recalled every text, datum, and book he had ever seen, rapidly comprehending and mastering them.

Wojciech could clearly distinguish the difference. In the past, his understanding of knowledge had come from the Tech-Priest's teachings, a religious sort of worship and ritual.

Now, however, he understood everything he had experienced from the level of fundamental principles, as though he were reliving his life with machinery from an entirely new perspective.

When Wojciech had previously selected polymer materials to make waterproof paint, he had merely followed the table in the appendix to Chapter Twenty-Three, "Materials Guide," of the Guide of the Omnissiah, which listed epoxy resins suitable for use in the Cradle of the Sea.

Now he knew why epoxy resin was the optimal choice. It was a hard polymer chemical material with high strength, high toughness, waterproofing, weather resistance, and corrosion resistance, making it suitable for seawater environments requiring high strength and corrosion resistance.

Wojciech, shaken to the core, stood stunned for a long time before realizing that he was floating in the air. Below him, the body wearing red robes was his own.

"Do as I say..."

Nimrod's majestic voice rang out. Wojciech was affected by it and instinctively did as the giant instructed, gradually calming down.

One standard ship hour later, Wojciech had mastered meditation and returned to normal, but he still had not recovered from the shock. He stared blankly at the giant before him.

He can actually bestow such power upon me. How is that possible? Could he be an incarnation of the Omnissiah?

After another dozen seconds of silence, he finally spoke.

"My King, thank you for your gift. I will certainly make good use of the power you have granted me and serve you faithfully."

Nimrod sensed Wojciech's emotional fluctuations and knew that he needed some time to adapt to the changed world. He would give him time to adjust.

"Go back and rest. Afterward, I want you to crack the secret within this Data Crystal."

Nimrod opened his right hand, revealing a crystal-clear cylinder in his palm, exquisitely and uniformly crafted by artificial means. It was twelve centimeters long and five centimeters in diameter.

For the Flao, who were skilled in the mysteries of Aether, crystals were the primary medium for storing knowledge and other information.

While beginning his own research, Nimrod also wanted the "Know-it-all" to give it a try.

"By your command, my King."

Wojciech carefully accepted the Data Crystal. His spirits rose. Compared to pondering whether Nimrod was an incarnation of the Omnissiah, he was more accustomed to technical work.

After Wojciech took his leave, Nimrod also brought out a Data Crystal and began studying it.

At the same time, in the Khanty-Mansi Dome of Tezwork.

An old man in long blue robes, his body bent forward and his chest sharply arched upward, raised his vulture-like left claw.

He clenched it hard. Several meters away, the foreman charging toward him with a wrench immediately felt an invisible hand seize his throat.

"I truly never expected that trash like you from the Lower Hive would be willing to die for an Upper Hive man who oppresses you."

The bald foreman cried out in broken gasps, "Protect... Lord Howard..."

The workers from the scorched workshop charged forward, swinging steel pipes in their hands.

The Arbites' infectious charisma had already won the workers' hearts. They were no longer fighting for food, but for their leader.

"How admirable!"

The old man in blue robes rubbed the snake-like feelers on his vulture claw and chattered in amazement.

"Howard Fender, the qualities you possess astonish me. I will give you an opportunity."

"Believe in the God of Wisdom. Join the Great Cause of Enlightenment."

His ears twitched as he listened to a voice coming from nowhere.

"Yes, join us, and you will achieve great things."

"I can tell you this: do not count on those subordinates of yours."

Howard saw the bald foreman collapse and stood dazed for a moment. Through his mind flashed the simple joy he had felt when receiving tuna and water.

Now, the man had charged ahead to protect him, wielding a wrench that barely counted as a weapon as he attacked the terrifying enemy who had killed the guard captain.

He saw the Dome's workers falling one after another under the Mutants' attacks, yet not one retreated. Understanding dawned on him.

This is the power my lord spoke of!

But Howard also knew that fighting spirit could not erase the gap in strength. The wizard before him was far too terrifying.

Moreover, he had given the order to summon the men of the 5th Regiment. There had been enough time for them to run back and forth several times, yet they still had not appeared. They must have encountered some obstruction.

I have to kill the Psyker wizard!

Howard raised his arm and aimed the Heavy Stubber at the wizard.

The gun rattled, and a dense barrage engulfed the wizard.

"A foolish choice."

The wizard raised his staff. Telekinesis erupted, forming an invisible force field before him.

The whistling rain of bullets suddenly halted, then reversed direction in midair under the control of "Machine Influence."

With another violent swing from the wizard, the bullets shot out, and the four remaining guards of House Finde fell into pools of blood.

The bullets struck the Artificer Power Armor with dull impacts before thudding to the ground.

Howard noticed that several bullet craters of varying depths had appeared in the armor over his chest.

He released the Heavy Stubber, swung his drill, and charged at the wizard.

The blue-robed Psyker shook his head. He raised his left claw, and the whirring drill stopped when it was still an arm's length away from him.

His multicolored pupils were filled with mockery as he looked at the foolish noble before him.

The blue-robed Psyker froze. There was not the slightest trace of despair in Howard's azure eyes.

The next instant, he felt his right arm holding the staff being tightly seized.

Howard successfully deceived the wizard. At the moment he believed victory was his, the Arbites launched a surprise attack and seized his arm.

The blue-robed Psyker turned pale with fright. He raised his left claw, intending to blast the blond noble away with Telekinesis, but the Arbites was faster. The moment Howard seized the wizard's arm, he yanked him hard into his embrace.

The blue-robed Psyker lost his balance, and his spell failed with it. His neck was tightly locked by the Arbites.

"I judge you: death!"

Howard's tone was icy as his arms tightened.

With a crisp crack, the wizard's head was twisted off.

The blond noble raised his arm and brutally pressed the drill into the back of the wizard's head.

A moment later, after confirming the wizard was dead, the Arbites released him and threw the corpse aside.

At the same time, Howard felt as though something inside his body was dissolving and merging with his own mind.