The development of mobile phones ultimately stagnated, limited to making calls, reading novels and comics, and playing simple games to pass the time. The complex functionalities Tribios had enjoyed in her previous life proved impossible to replicate.
The fundamental limitation was the lack of a true network. Whether making calls or accessing digital content, Melly's mobile phones relied on Divination School magic for remote transmission. When A called B, their phones automatically cast magic to establish the connection.
Reading novels and comics involved a portable version of the Projection Crystal Ball—a vastly upgraded version of the Crystal Ball Melly had created long ago to record and play movies.
As for the simple games, they were programmed Illusion School spells, capable of running only basic titles like "Minesweeper."
Despite these limitations, the mobile phone became a massive hit, with nearly everyone owning one, primarily due to the sheer convenience of making calls.
Time continued to flow. Two centuries after Okhema's founding, a momentous event shook the Northern Territory. A leader had unified the region, but before he could establish control over the vast nation, he vanished without a trace, plunging the Northern Territory back into chaos.
That same year, the lifespans of some of Okhema's oldest half-elves and Beastmen were nearing their end. This meant that, apart from Melly, Tribios would soon have no familiar faces left in Okhema. Conversely, all the current inhabitants of Okhema had grown up under her watchful eye.
Initially, Tribios' sole purpose had been to endure these three hundred years, return to the future, and reunite with Aria and the others. But now, she had come to genuinely cherish this city. For the first time since her past life, Okhema felt like home.
Two hundred and sixty years after Okhema's founding, a novel titled Legend of the Demon King and the Hero emerged in the outside world. Upon learning of its existence, Tribios immediately dispatched agents to investigate. They discovered that the author was an ordinary half-elf male who had spent time researching Chaos City in person. Drawing from widely circulated Hero legends, he had returned home to write the novel.
This was truly an ordinary novel, its story entirely fictional. In Okhema today, most people would likely find its plot terribly clichéd, but to outsiders, it was utterly novel. Naturally, the book gradually became a sensation.
Seeing how profitable his fabricated tales had become, the half-elf author began churning out sequel after sequel. Tribios even had someone buy her a set. As she flipped through the volumes in her hands, she murmured, "Is it finally almost time?"
Only forty years remained. While this might seem like a lifetime to an ordinary person, to Tribios, it was no longer a long time at all.
In the 295th year since Okhema's founding, Tribios rose early as usual, washed, and opened her wardrobe. Gazing at the dazzling array of beautiful clothes before her, it's worth noting that the closet also contained many pairs of silk stockings. These had been mass-produced by Okhema's garment factories for quite some time.
In her early days, Tribios had tried wearing stockings for a while, but she ultimately found that the style didn't suit her. She preferred going bare-legged with thigh garters, which she felt looked better. As a result, she gradually wore stockings less and less.
Of course, if she were adopting a cute persona like Castorice or Hyacine, she would definitely wear them daily.
Shifting her gaze from the stockings, Tribios selected a light-colored evening gown that she particularly liked and then styled her hair into an elegant updo in front of the mirror.
Looking at her reflection—the image of a gentle and virtuous red-haired woman—she felt no particular emotion. After all, she had been seeing this face for nearly three centuries. Apart from thinking, "I'm still as beautiful as ever," she long since stopped experiencing any psychological reactions to it.
As usual, Tribios prepared to head to work to slack off—no, to work diligently. But just as she reached her front door and changed into her high heels, a crisp notification chime rang in her ears.
Ding~
After a brief moment of confusion, Tribios realized what it was. With a thought, she opened the System Page, which she hadn't checked in over a century.
Finally, the perpetually loading three dots shifted slightly, and a line of text appeared:
System core detected. Attempting to reconnect...
This is... Before Tribios could react, another line flashed onto the screen:
Reconnection failed. Retrying...
The process repeated endlessly—attempting to reconnect, failing, retrying.
Tribios: "..."
After a moment of contemplation, she grasped the situation. With a thought, a Century Gate materialized before her. Stepping through, she found herself in a forest. She swiftly took cover behind a nearby tree, cautiously peering ahead.
As expected, she saw a cute Catgirl who had just tripped, her front slamming heavily against the ground. It was unmistakably Cipher, or rather... her former self.
This was the precise moment Cipher crossed over to this world. The system had detected its core, but because the disconnection point hadn't yet been reached, reconnection remained impossible.
In other words, she still needed to wait for her past self to complete her adventures. Once the Tribios of this era finished her crossing over, the System on her end would likely reconnect, allowing her consciousness to synchronize with Cipher and Castorice.
After one last glance at Cipher, Tribios departed. She had already waited two hundred and ninety-five years; a few more days made no difference.
On the contrary, she had originally expected to wait a full three hundred years, so the fact that it was happening five years early was an unexpected and pleasant surprise.
Upon returning to Okhema and resuming her duties, Melly immediately noticed, "Teacher Tribbie? Something good happen? You look so happy!"
Tribios blinked in surprise. "Eh? Is it that obvious?"
Melly nodded emphatically. "Of course! It's radiating from you!"
"Ahem." After clearing her throat, Tribios considered her words carefully before replying, "The other Demigods from my Prophecy have appeared. They'll be returning soon, and Okhema will be able to lift its seclusion shortly."
Melly tilted her head slightly. "Really?"
Tribios walked over and gently ruffled Melly's hair. "Of course it's true!"
Melly instinctively hugged Tribios, burying her face in her chest and nuzzling against her while making cute little noises. "Alright, alright, I'll trust you, Teacher~"
Over the course of her long scientific endeavors, Melly's Magitech Body had been upgraded multiple times. This latest version now possessed touch, smell, and taste, making her almost indistinguishable from an ordinary person.
Of course, before Melly could upgrade her Magitech Body to this level, she had endured a century of agonizing pain. After regaining her five senses, Tribios never refused her requests for hugs and other displays of affection.
Truth be told, Tribios's feelings toward Melly were now quite complex. Upon learning that Olivia had successfully reincarnated, she was naturally overjoyed. Yet when Melly asked about it, Tribios inexplicably felt like she'd been caught cheating.
Instinctively, Tribios avoided mentioning Olivia's reincarnation, instead using the excuse of a "Demigod's emergence" to evade the topic.
Choosing between a reincarnated ex-girlfriend and a current girlfriend who had selflessly stood by her side for three centuries might seem like a weighty dilemma. But after a moment's contemplation, Tribios concluded: Why not have both?
Tribios would stay with Melly, and Cipher would stay with Aria—a perfect arrangement, right?
Yet, despite having endured nearly three centuries already, Tribios found the final year dragging on with excruciating slowness.
Out of desperation, Tribios abandoned her usual slacking habits and threw herself wholeheartedly into her work, hoping to make time pass faster.
Okhema's current population stood at approximately five million. Humans made up eighty percent of the population, while the remaining twenty percent was equally divided among half-elves, Dwarves, Catfolk, and Werewolves, each comprising five percent of the population.
Considering Okhema's complete isolation from the outside world, its development to this extent was remarkable. This was largely due to Tribios's governance. Rather than a monarchy, Okhema had become more akin to a theocracy, a nation ruled by divine authority and shaped by the cult of personality surrounding its leader.
Throughout Okhema, everyone revered Tribios as an idol, worshiping her as a god. Any command issued by the Holy Maiden was carried out with utmost dedication by all citizens.
Okhema was a truly united nation, its cohesion pushed to its absolute limit!
Beyond this unity, the second factor was Melly, the unparalleled genius. In the far southwestern corner of Okhema stood a colossal cylindrical structure. To put it in terms of Tribios's previous-world technology, this was the world's equivalent of a nuclear fusion reactor.
By fusing multiple elements in precise proportions, Melly could unleash unimaginable energy. Without exaggeration, the energy produced by this single Elemental Reactor was sufficient to power all of Okhema, an inexhaustible source that granted the nation complete energy independence!
Even more astonishing was Melly's original purpose for creating this device: to forge a weapon!
The twelve established classes each possessed their own Divine Artifacts. Having pioneered the thirteenth class—the Magitech Master (Artificer)—Melly reasoned that her class deserved its own Divine Artifact.
So, she wondered if she could create a superweapon artificially. After years of tireless effort, the Elemental Reactor was born—or, as Tribios called it, the Nuclear Missile Silo.
Of course, the latter name was Tribios's choice. Melly didn't know what a "nuclear missile" was, but she naturally wouldn't refuse her teacher's naming convention, so that's what it became.
Once activated, the Elemental Reactor could unleash a black energy beam with destructive power comparable to a nuclear weapon—or even more terrifying. As a beam-type weapon, it possessed far greater penetration and killing potential.
Furthermore, while it emitted no nuclear radiation, it triggered a phenomenon called Magic Disintegration. The immense power would cause all Magic Power within the target area to undergo a chain reaction, detonating it completely. This not only amplified the weapon's destructive force but also transformed the target location into a mana-barren zone for days or even months afterward.
During this period, casting spells in the area would become extremely difficult, and all creatures containing Magic Power would be rendered utterly weak and vulnerable—a truly terrifying prospect.
The sole drawback was its poor targeting and extremely short range—the beam might only travel less than a kilometer before its energy dissipated, causing it to explode.
At first glance, this weapon seemed utterly useless. Once activated, Okhema itself would be the only casualty.
But we mustn't forget Tribios' Authority. Melly had installed a massive Century Gate switch at the launch aperture. The instant the beam was fired, it would enter the Century Gate, allowing for instantaneous targeting and arrival at its destination.
In essence, because of the Century Gate, Melly completely disregarded range and endurance considerations, focusing all her computational power on maximizing destructive force.
When the weapon was first completed, Melly sighed, "It's a pity those five kingdoms no longer exist. I'd really love to use them as targets and test-fire this thing."
In short, with the virtually limitless energy provided by the Elemental Reactor, Okhema's other industries naturally flourished. Every time Tribios strolled through the city, observing her surroundings, she felt a profound sense of accomplishment.
Time slowly passed. Finally, she endured the last few months. In what had once been the City of Hope, now Chaos City, Tribios was extracted by Castorice due to her Fame reaching the required threshold, and they journeyed to the underground Ice Cave.
The moment they activated the time-traveling Magic Circle, the System before Tribios in Okhema successfully reconnected after countless attempts!
The long-awaited System Page reappeared before her:
[Flame-Chaser Identity System is at your service]
[Currently unlocked Identities: Cipher (Cifera), Mydei (Mydeimos), Castorice, Tribios]
[Increase Fame to unlock another Identity draw. Current Fame: 3,119,200 / 200,000]
-
Volume 3 End