Drawing lots

In fact, the layout of the entire Research Center had already been decided long ago, so the rooms for the three churches had also been planned.

The three rooms have been planned to be of similar size as much as possible, but their locations are still different.

These three rooms are all located on the first floor of the Research Center and are arranged in a triangle, ensuring that they are close to some key locations.

However, only one of the rooms has the best location, enjoying perfect sunlight; the other two are a bit out of the way, and one of them is also a bit too close to the Washroom.

This wasn't intentional on the part of Portland or Kronos; it's simply how the architecture dictates it should be.

Therefore, these three rooms are definitely worth fighting for among these three companies.

Kronos arranged for a student to show the three of them around the Research Center, implying that they should take their time. This was a particularly clever student, who was sure to understand the deeper meaning behind the suggestion.

As for himself, he quickly went to think about this fair Rules.

There are actually many ways to be fair, but the main issue is that these three are all Beyonder, and all of them have reached Sequence 5. It's not easy to eliminate the influence of their Beyonder Ability.

The Spirit Warlock can manipulate Nature Spirit and has many ways to cheat; the Ocean Songster is inherently a more combat-effective Sequence, but he has also enhanced his abilities with the Wind-blessed, becoming more proficient in controlling wind and water; as for the Astronomer, the starlight in his hands is ever-changing, and Kronos cannot guarantee that he can defend against such methods.

Therefore, to prevent these methods from interfering with fairness, there must be a means sufficient to suppress everyone.

Kronos is now wondering if the Scroll he made can perform this function.

It doesn't need to take too long, half a minute is enough.

So Kronos returned to his lab and took out the Scroll he had made. He had made five Scroll for the Decree skill; even if the effect was poor, one scroll per person would be enough.

The remaining issue was the Rules for choosing a house, and Kronos decided to use the simplest method: drawing lots.

Once their Beyonder Ability are suppressed, quickly draw lots, and today's problem will be over.

The only thing that left him a little unsure was that these three deacons were all veteran Sequence 5, Kronos didn't know if the Scroll he had created could suppress them.

This can be considered an opportunity; facing these established Sequence 5, it's a good chance to test my Scroll.

If this Decree can suppress their Beyonder Ability, then it means that the Sequence 5 Skill Scroll they create can unleash the true Sequence 5 abilities.

If one day he had to face an opponent of Sequence 5, Kronos would be able to accurately assess his own situation.

When the student returned with the three deacons, the three were already using foul language.

"I think it's already good enough to give you a room close to the Washroom. You should be able to stay directly in the Washroom; that would be more in line with your status."

"Bullshit, your stench is perfect for the Washroom anyway. You're all pretty weak, so cleaning the toilets is your best job."

"Agree."

The battle can basically be summarized as follows: Ikanser fought against both Roy and Soest alone.

Ikanser is adept at using tone and linguistic sarcasm against his opponent.

Roy, on the other hand, fully demonstrated the excellent qualities of a follower of the Lord of Storms, resorting to insults when he couldn't win an argument.

Soest stood silently beside him, administering acupuncture, occasionally uttering a word.

In fact, the relationship between the Three Churches was not so bad that they were resorting to insults; on the contrary, their relationship was quite good.

There are frequent collaborations between the three Beyonder organizations: Machinery Hivemind, Nighthawks, and Mandated Punishers.

But today is different. If it were just an ordinary matter, with the Three Churches undermining each other, it would be a minor issue, and they could easily maintain a facade of friendliness.

However, the Research Center was already considered a sure thing by Saint Hilleran Cathedral, a place for rapid development. It would be strange if the Church of Steam and Machinery could remain friendly after this interference.

So it was Horamick who sent Ikanser, just to have a good verbal exchange with these people. A large-scale conflict couldn't break out, but a few insults wouldn't hurt, right? Ikanser's abilities in this regard are trustworthy.

In fact, when Soest and Roy saw Ikanser, they knew they were doomed, so they formed an alliance with just a glance.

These two were quite different in terms of language skills, but one started hurling insults while the other thought things through slowly before launching a counterattack. Their teamwork was actually quite good, and at least they didn't suffer a major loss against Ikanser.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, please don't do this. Don't make yourselves angry." Kronos quickly led the three into a room; he couldn't let them curse at each other in public like this.

After finally getting into the room, the three of them were exhausted from cursing, so they stopped and prepared to listen to what Kronos had to say.

Kronos, determined not to take the blame himself, said, "The current situation is that the Project at the Research Center is mainly handled by three people: Mr. Kask, a member of the Higher Education Committee; President Professor Portland of Backlund Technical University; and myself."

"They're all quite busy right now, so I'll be handling things today. We had previously discussed that only the Church of Steam and Machinery was supposed to be moving in, but unexpectedly three churches have moved in. So the rooms were all booked at the last minute, and there might be some issues. I hope you can all understand."

"As for everyone's positions, I originally wanted to fix them outright, but Mr. Kask and Professor Portland are more suitable for this. They were afraid that our choices might not suit everyone's tastes, so they thought you should discuss it together, which is why we are in this situation today."

In summary, what I said above means that I was not capable of taking responsibility for this matter; it was all Kask and Portland's idea.

"But I need to know whether you want to decide on the room location yourselves, or whether I should provide a set of rules for you to compete according to those rules?"

Kronos sensed that they wouldn't choose to negotiate on their own, because such negotiation would essentially be a contest, but they couldn't possibly reach an agreement because their strengths were too different.

Sure enough, no sooner had he said that than another argument broke out, nearly tearing the house down.

To be honest, none of them are reliable; they all want to take advantage of others in their areas of expertise.

Roy said to just fight it out; the most important thing for a real man is strength, but he forbade the use of Beyonder Item.

At this point, Soest also abandoned his alliance and was the first to object, saying that force is only necessary when it is sufficient. In fact, the most important thing in many situations is to save one's life, and the most reliable way for a person to save their life is to run away. They should compete in running, without needing Beyonder Ability.

Finally, there was Ikanser, who insisted that since this was Research Center, the competition should focus on technological advancements and see who could create an Beyonder Item first. As he spoke, he winked at Kronos, signaling for his help.

Ikanser was the most ruthless. Roy and Soest's proposals were still at risk of backfiring, but his was a sure thing.

These three people's schemes really backfired spectacularly on Kronos.

But Kronos didn't stop them; he just watched from the sidelines. There were no melon seeds in this world, so why not grab a handful and crack some open while watching the show?

It only took the three of them a few minutes to go from offering suggestions to trying to persuade each other, and then to hurling insults at each other. The remaining hour or so was spent entirely insulting each other.

Kronos was truly enjoying the gossip from the sidelines, because these three weren't just communicating with profanities; their interactions also included quite a few embarrassing stories, Kronos thoroughly enjoyed.

After arguing until their throats were dry, the three of them tacitly found a place to rest for a while. Kronos also thoughtfully prepared beer for them to soothe their throats. If they drank more, would they be able to argue again?

But Kronos's wish was not fulfilled. After the three sat down, they all looked at Kronos, clearly wanting him to speak.

"The three of you seem unable to convince each other. How about I set a Rules for this? We had an idea about it when we were discussing it before." Kronos carefully sought opinions.

Ikanser was the first to speak, "Brother Kronos, just say it. I don't believe you would mistreat your brother."

Okay, that's a really good use of emotional blackmail.

One sentence almost destroyed Kronos's credibility in the eyes of Roy and Soest.

But ultimately, having exhausted all other options, the two finally agreed to listen.

Seeing that all three had agreed, Kronos then said, "Actually, my idea is very simple: we'll just draw lots. There are three slips of paper, each labeled with a room number. You three can draw one, and whichever one you pick is your room."

"However, Mr. Kask and Professor Portland have reservations because all three are powerful Beyonder, making it difficult to guarantee absolute fairness."

At this point, all three deacons nodded. When this method was mentioned, they had already thought of several ways to cheat.

But since Kronos had already said it, it probably wasn't just idle chatter, so none of the three interrupted, and they waited for Kronos to continue.

"So we discussed it for a long time and finally decided that we should temporarily suppress everyone's Beyonder Ability to ensure fairness. That's why I made a special trip back to the Argel Manor."

As he spoke, Kronos produced a Skill Scroll. "This is Decree Scroll made by my father; it should be able to achieve the effect I want."