[It is magic, my lord, Due to your status, sacrifices might as well be deals but in this position the sacrifice was made to save your life but a life needed to save the life that is to be taken, hence i offered his in your name] NOus explained but David had no idea what it meant.
He understood the cosmic importance of his status but the mechanics it just explained flew over his head. If he understood it right then what Nous just did was a cheat.
It claimed that it was magic which by the way was an earth shattering revelation on its own, Magic existed but then if cultivators did, why wouldn't Mages.
Anyway he may not knot the rules guiding magic since he had yet to truly learn much about the nature of this world he thought he knew but sacrifices usually involved three parties.
The Sacrificer who in this case was Nous, the Recipient who was him in the position of the Editor and finally the Sacrificial victim which was the cultivator.
As for why it was a cheat, well it was simple . The sacrifice was made with the intent to save his life. This meant that the beneficiary of the sacrifice was him then if you coupled the fact that Nous had initiated said sacrifice whilst in control of his body and the fact that the recipient of the sacrifice was him
Then the strange scene he had witnessed seemed to make sense but at the same time it didn't. Not wanting to think too much of it, David decided it was better for him to simply focus on the present.
[Do not worry sir, such a method is only possible because you are the Editor and even so, it is possible only once, the universe does actively fix loopholes when it can] NOus suddenly said
"Guess i really have to come up with a better way to defend myself" David thought as he peered at the tiny window at the corner of his vision.
The bar had barely even covered 5% of the loading screen. Looking at how slow it was, David began to wonder whether the position of the Editor was that mysterious that it was taking a Divine Intelligence like Nous such a long time to figure it out
"Wait Nous, aren't you connected to the akashic Record, how come you dont have this knowledge already logged somewhere?" David asked
[My lord, The Akashic Record is still a record at the end of the day, it is not omniscient but knowledgeable about all things of the past and the present, however even within that jurisdiction, there are some beings beyond recording and the Editor is one such being] NOus explained
Hearing it, David felt like something broke within him, everything suddenly made sense. Its page never once said that Nous was omniscient, he had assumed it because he had seen that it was connected to the Akashic Record.
The Record was something that was commonly used by writers to depict an omniscient source of information but real life wasn't fiction. It was named a record for a reason.
It also made sense that the Editor's existence was beyond the record, their power was based on completely changing the narrative to be as though it has always been like that.
Like the glitch that just took place, he wasn't exactly sure whether it was the work of an editor but he was sure that it wasn't normal. Assuming that it was the work of a past editor then it would explain why Nous didn't have knowledge of it.
No one was supposed to know of the Janitor, they do their work silently in the background and the people are only supposed to see the place as though its some perpetually neat area.
"Ah thank you sir, for the meal" Ibrahim said, snapping David back to reality
"Ah, no problem, Anyway since you are done, let's go" David said as they both stood up.
Soon they loaded everything that was bought into the car as they made their way home. However before they could do that, David went to check out the Airbnb he had rented out for now. Since he would be moving into the place soon, there was no need to go back to the apartment for now.
The Airbnb had everything so all he needed was to go back to get his personal belongings and some other things he may need. After waving Ibrahim goodbye, he asked him to come the next day to pick him up.
Thankfully Airbnbs were fully furnished homes, even the fridge was stocked up so all he needed to do was to prepare his meal. After a hearty meal, David immediately retired himself to bed.
He may have not noted it before, probably because he was still tense but his entire body was aching. Nous had pushed him to the limit, to dodge and even counter the attacks.
No matter how low leveled the man had been, he was still a cultivator at the end of the day. A being who had used the supernatural energy of this world to enhance and build a body that surpassed that of ordinary humans .
Due to this, immediately he touched the bed, David immediately went to sleep and Nous kept watch of their surroundings.
….
The next day ,
Ibrahim returned as he had promised but came a little too early. Seeing the man, David didnt know what to say. Ibrahim represented everything he didn't want at the moment.
Energetic, bright smile and full of life, from the way his face was shining but kept on yawning at random intervals, David could tell that the man had probably been too excited that he didnt sleep.
"Good morning sir, I am reporting for duty, is there any place you would like to go today?" Ibrahim asked
"Today? After picking up my time, you would be starting your training, are you ready?" David said
"Training? For what? Sir" Ibrahim asked
"I said you would be my bodyguard and driver, don't tell me you intended to function like a common bouncer, you need training" David said as he welcomed the man inside.
"Have you eaten?" He asked since no reply came
The man seemed to be fully things over but David could only chuckle, there was nothing he wanted to do now that he could withdraw.
"Okay sir, when do i start?" Ibrahim said
"Excellent but have you eaten? the trainer would be here soon" David asked
"I have sir" he answered as David offered him a seat
Since he was prepared, David simply went back in as he went ahead to freshen up, Nous had already said that everything related to Ibrahim's training could be left to it.
David on the other hand didnt want to get involved but after the events of yesterday, he needed to find a means of self defence quickly.
"Everything is prepared right?" David asked as soon as he was out of range
[Yes sir, however for full training effect should i look into acquiring a proper paperwork and infrastructure for an actual body guard academy]
"I don't need a large host of bodyguards, I only need three at most" David reasoned
There was no logical reason why he should be creating a school when all he needed was just a few elites
[That is excellent thinking, however think of this as an investment into the future and besides if successful, they can also serve to create a private security agency in the future] Nous said
"I can understand what you mean, it would be an extra means of making money but I don't need that, this feels like creating a private army for no reason" David said as he jumped into the bathroom to freshen up
As he did so, he heard the door bell ring again. He didn't need to go and check, it was Nous as the instructor.
Ibrahim answered the door, allowing the hard light construct body it had created to enter and sit.
[Sir I can recognize your worry but…]
"Wait, would you teach them how to cultivate?" David suddenly asked
[Eventually, yes… the Nigerian Government doesn't permit the carrying of firearms under any circumstance for Private Guard companies.. To ensure their safety, such training would be required]
"Good then let's do that" David replied
His most pressing issue at the moment was safety, he had made his first edit with a shallow understanding of the World which now left him powerless in the face of danger.
He still didn't regret it because without Nous, he probably wouldn't even know about that world by now.
However it still didn't change the fact that at the moment, what he needed the most was protection.
By this he didn't mean armed bodyguards. He needed proper protection in this world where random people could just attack you just because you breathed differently.
[As you wish sir] Nous replied as David finally began to take his bath
He wouldn't say that he wasn't shaken up by the event, he was and greatly so at that. However he had no way of increasing his power properly save for the manual that Nous was still compiling.
He could use his next month's edit to create something that would give him power but he felt as though he shouldn't make such an edit. There was no logical reason as to why he shouldn't but he decided to truth his instincts.