Essence

Kronos's departure seemed to have flipped a switch; within five minutes, all the shareholders present took their leave one after another.

Sitting in the carriage, Kronos was in a good mood. He thought he had achieved his goal, and now these small merchants probably wouldn't be so stubborn.

As for the Marquis Argel's ban that the Butler had mentioned before, Kronos didn't take it seriously at all. He hadn't actually done anything; he was just bluffing. What did it matter?

As for everything that just happened, it's easy to explain: it's because Kronos had an accomplice.

A few minutes later, Kronos's helper flew in from outside the carriage and landed on Kronos's shoulder.

Kronos gently patted his helper's head and praised, "Qing, you did a great job!"

That's right, this helper is Qing, who has become a writer. In fact, if this kind of work were given to a Marionette, Kronos's script could be arranged even more perfectly.

Unfortunately, the previous Marionette Yodsen has been canceled by Kronos and turned into Beyonder Characteristic, which was then given to Roel. It has now been made into Beyonder Item and placed in the Manor's Storeroom.

In a short time, Kronos couldn't find a suitable Marionette, so he had no choice but to have Qing cooperate.

"Thank you for the compliment, Master." A reply came from Qing's mouth, spoken in genuine human language, not translated by Beyonder Item.

After drinking the Potion, Qing adapted for a period of time. As the Potion digestion process proceeded smoothly, it gained the ability to speak.

This speed far surpasses that of Susie the Dog of Imagination, but it's understandable. Birds naturally have an advantage in learning human speech, and with the help of the Potion, Qing learned to speak in a very short time.

The sound that just came from outside the window wasn't made by Kronos using any special method; it was Qing's own voice. That's why the servants didn't see anyone outside, and because the bird outside the window went unnoticed.

"You came back so quickly, so all those people turned around and left?" Kronos asked.

Because when Kronos left, Qing was actually still outside the window, just to observe what these people would do next.

"Yes, they didn't say anything after that, and then they all left one after another." Qing naturally had nothing to hide from Kronos.

Kronos nodded; this was the best outcome.

These are all typical businessmen, driven by profit. If they stay put and continue their discussion, they might rekindle the Greed that was just scared off by fear, which would greatly diminish the effectiveness of today's performance.

However, they didn't exchange any words and instead chose to leave directly, which was good Message for Kronos.

This strongly suggests that they have no other ulterior motives and should be able to behave themselves.

Thinking of this, Kronos said to Qing, "Qing, do you remember that person wearing a black top hat in the conference room just now?"

Qing thought for a moment, then nodded and replied, "I remember, Master."

"Okay, then go keep an eye on him for me. Just observe from a distance, don't get too close, and protect yourself."

The person Kronos was referring to was the shareholder who had just been boasting. He felt that the only variable among these people might be him, because he had connections to get in touch with Beyonder, and who knew what he might do.

Qing naturally did not refuse, nodded, and flew out of the carriage.

The arrangements are almost complete. All that's left is to wait for Message — Message from Qing, and also Message from the Butler.

The Butler was still making the most of every minute to take stock of the family's assets, not just Kain's, but also the Argel Family's publicly known businesses.

Some industries that are easy to relocate have already begun to move, while those that will have a greater impact are in the preparation stage.

Before his return, the Marquis Argel had instructed him not to expect any impact, as that was impossible. The Argel Family's businesses were so vast, encompassing so many industries, that a relocation without any disruption was simply out of the question.

However, it is essential to make all preparations in advance and take care of everything beforehand to avoid causing dissatisfaction in any direction. Otherwise, even if the relocation goes smoothly, it will affect the family's future plans.

So these days, the Butler is in charge of managing all the properties from the back, while most of the Secretariat members are out there building relationships. They have already paid a considerable price to appease the dissatisfaction of all parties.

Just when the Butler was in a terrible mood due to the overwhelming workload, good Message arrived: all the shareholders of Kain Bank agreed to the offer, which meant selling their shares at the normal market price.

Upon receiving this Message, the Butler was initially bewildered, because at the last shareholders' meeting, some people were clamoring for double the price, and only a few days had passed, yet everyone had agreed.

Upon seeing this result, the Butler immediately realized that Kronos must have done something, and as for what it was, a little thought would make it clear.

The Butler gave a wry smile. Kain Bank was an important piece in Marquis Argel's scheme, and he could only hope that this incident wouldn't damage Kain Bank's reputation; otherwise, they would have no choice but to establish a new bank.

The Butler was somewhat frustrated. Kronos was no longer the child he knew. If it had been a few years earlier, he could have easily dissuaded Kronos from his idea by invoking the Marquis Argel's decree. But things were different now. If he had known this would happen, he would have explained the pros and cons to Kronos properly a few days ago.

Now all we can do is hope that Kronos will be careful not to cause any real trouble.

Regardless of the means used, since they were willing to sell, the Butler naturally had no reason to refuse.

After some communication, the Butler regained all the shares of Kain Bank and found out what had happened, which put his mind at ease.

Kronos only made a fuss and didn't do anything else. If that was all, perhaps things would have been alright, and nothing irreparable would have happened.

After receiving the Message from the Butler, Kronos immediately made it seem like he was going on a long trip and moved out of Jason's House.

Patrick Jason, the small-time banker in Backlund, disappeared completely, while Kronos, who was living in the Research Center and leading the New Materials Project, returned.

Whether he returns or not makes little difference. The assistant introduced by Professor Portland is very capable and has basically taken over the entire Project. Kronos is just helping to oversee things.

Kronos was happy with this arrangement, at least he didn't have to worry about his Project being left unfinished after he left.

The Project no longer required much of Kronos's attention, so Kronos devoted his time to the Scroll.

The negative effects of the Chaos Bracelet are relatively acceptable; it only causes Rules chaos in the surrounding environment for ten seconds. That's why Kronos dares to use the Chaos Skill once a day, just to experience its true nature.

However, the chaos of the Rules is quite terrifying. In the worst instance, the oxygen that Kronos was breathing turned into a harmful gas, almost killing him instantly.

Fortunately, it only lasted for ten seconds, which is a relatively easy duration to endure.

To protect himself, Kronos had maxed out his proficiency with the Armor of the Guardian's Scroll. Before each experiment with Chaos Skill, he would cast a Armor of the Guardian on himself, just in case he randomly encountered a fatal chaotic Rules. With the Armor of Guardianship on, he should be able to withstand it for ten seconds.

Fortunately, the negative effects were not particularly fatal each day afterward, so there was basically no impact.

Finally, one midday, as if struck by a sudden Mind Stone, Kronos grasped the essence of chaos in that instant.

He was wrong all along; the essence of the Chaos skill isn't its name, but its Rules.

Whether it's chaos, Distortion, or even the skills of the Justiciar Pathway, their essence is the same: Rules. That's why these two Pathway can transform into each other.

Kronos had been basing his analysis on the concept of chaos, concluding that he might be able to complete the skill within a certain timeframe. However, his understanding was fundamentally flawed, and the actual power of the skill would be vastly different.

After grasping this principle, Kronos suddenly Consciousness that the Distortion Scroll, the Decree Scroll, and the Judgment Scroll he had created before might all have been problematic; the problem was that their underlying premise was wrong.

These skills should all be based on Rules, and then each find its own direction for development.

Instead of using their names as a starting point to develop the power of those names and then try to influence the Rules, such an approach is both laborious and has limited effectiveness.

Having figured this out, Kronos hurried toward his desk, eager to put it into practice. But as soon as he took his first step, he collapsed to the ground, then pushed himself upside down and walked toward his desk.

After sensing it, Kronos understood the reason: this place only allowed walking on hands, and the Rules would last for ten seconds.

Well, since that's the Rules, there's nothing Kronos can do about it. Anyway, walking upside down is effortless for Beyonder.

As he approached the desk, the Rules ceased to apply, and after returning to normal, Kronos picked up the Inscribing Pen.

Instead of immediately completing the design blueprint for the Chaos Skill, he adjusted his mindset and prepared to improve his previous skills.

It was one thing to not know before, but now that a better method has been found, Kronos naturally hopes to create better Skill Scroll. This is not just the goal of a Scroll Professor, but also a professional habit of a researcher.

While each improvement to Skill Scroll doesn't require as much time as creating entirely new ideas, it still takes a considerable amount of time. However, Kronos has an advantage: he has thoroughly studied the previous Scroll, which allows him to significantly reduce the time required.

On this day, a sign saying "No Unauthorized Personnel Allowed" was hung at the entrance of Kronos's laboratory.

This isn't his own home, and he doesn't have Servants to keep visitors away, so he has to use this sign to warn them.

This sparked heated discussions within the Research Center.

Following the inauguration Ritual, the Scientists that Professor Portland had recruited have gradually moved into the Research Center.

Whether it was these Scientists or the Scientists members they led, almost everyone was very interested in Kronos.

In today's society, the scientific community is only so big, so when someone like this suddenly appears, it's quite intriguing to others.

This person is only in his early twenties, yet he already has a considerable number of scientific research achievements and has even participated in the Ironclad Project.

If it weren't for their general trust in Portland's professional ethics, they would have thought this was a fake product cultivated by a Professor Portland using his own expertise.

But Portland had assured them he was a genius, so everyone wanted to learn more about him.

As a result, after the inauguration Ritual, Kronos devoted himself entirely to his Project.

These people may not be researching New Materials, but their profound theoretical knowledge still reveals Kronos's abilities in the field, and thus they gradually came to accept Professor Portland's assessment of Kronos.

But then Kronos took leave, not giving everyone a chance to get to know him.

Having just returned a few days ago, he's already entered a state of "seclusion" again.

So naturally, the entire Research Center was focused on him. Everyone agreed that Kronos had probably come up with a new approach and that a new Project might be launched soon.

But if others don't know, how could Portland not know?

Kronos has devoted all his energy to the development of Beyonder, so it's impossible for him to be conducting scientific research right now. It would be more plausible to speculate that he has a major breakthrough in Potion digestion.

For the next few days, Kronos did not leave his house.

"Seclusion" is fine, but you can't just starve yourself like that, so Portland went there in person.

As soon as Portland entered the house, he saw the roast chicken and fruit on Kronos's Table, and Qing observing the outside world from the window. He immediately understood.

Portland watched Kronos intently experimenting on the Scroll, but said nothing and quietly withdrew.

Although Professor Portland felt it was a pity, given his character, he would never interfere with Kronos's choice.

This state lasted for a week, during which time Kronos improved all the Scroll Kronos the Black Emperor Pathway and Justiciar Pathway that he knew.

Now, Kronos doesn't even need to experiment; he can see the improvement in these Scroll simply with his Eyes of Mystery Prying.

Based on the Rules, the various skills derived from them are much more powerful than before, making Kronos feel that these Scroll may have reached the limit of their Sequence.

This is the essence of the Scroll Professor: through the study of various mystical knowledge and extraordinary skills, to find the essence of skills from different Pathway, and then to perfectly replicate these skills.

Looking through his Eyes of Mystery Prying, Kronos sensed that the power of his newly created Scroll was already very close to that of the skills of Beyonder of the same Sequence.

The previous Scroll could barely reach the edge of Sequence 5, and their power was only about two-thirds that of the same skill released by Beyonder.

But now, the gap between the two may be just a hair's breadth away.

Kronos knew that this was probably the limit, since it wasn't a skill released by Beyonder, but rather one he copied and stored in the form of Scroll. Achieving the same power was practically impossible.

So he was quite satisfied. Putting aside the potion's power for the moment, he was at least satisfied with the progress in which the Potion was being digested.

Before improving these Scroll, his digestion progress was about 95 percent; now it's basically 99 percent.

The chaotic Scroll is not yet complete, but Kronos believes that once it is fully finished, completely digesting the Potion Scroll be a piece of cake.

So he began working on a complete Design Plan for the Chaos Scroll.

Having gained experience from improving the Scroll before, Kronos felt that everything was going smoothly.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Kronos called out impatiently, "Who is it? I'm busy!"