Though Alaric was brimming with curiosity, he didn't rush to establish another rule to explore further. Instead, he focused on testing the "stay up and turn into a kitten" rule in Building No. 1 with the people of City of Silver.
One step at a time, after all.
After some exploration, Alaric found himself surrounded by a variety of cats. Their colors and breeds varied, but they shared one trait: they were larger than typical cats, closer in size to a Maine Coon.
His experiments with the rule yielded plenty of insights.
"The strength of a regional rule depends on the number of believers. Initially, it can only bind ordinary people, but at its peak, it can affect angels... though that requires an astronomical number of believers…"
Alaric rubbed his chin, seated among the cats, jotting mental notes while holding a paw of one particularly feisty feline.
This cat, with ruby-red eyes, was furiously biting his wrist... unsuccessfully, as it couldn't break his defenses.
Yes, this was none other than Medici, the Red Angel. After testing the rule's facets with City of Silver's people, Alaric had a flash of inspiration to probe its upper limits... specifically, how many believers were needed to reach that ceiling.
He contacted leaders from organizations like the Aurora Order and the Numinous Episcopate, using them to spread belief in the "stay up and turn into a kitten" rule. When the number of believers hit 20,000, Medici, coaxed into entering Building No. 1, transformed into a cat without warning.
"Medici's only Sequence 2, and it still took this much. Binding higher Sequences must be even tougher. But this rule's power is stronger than I expected…"
Alaric muttered internally, his gaze falling on the now-irate Medici-cat. With a grin, he suddenly lifted the cat in a classic Lion King pose.
Medici froze, clearly unprepared for this, then thrashed wildly... though his struggles were as feeble as a real kitten's.
"It really turned him into a cat! Except for his mind, all his abilities are sealed. Unless attacked externally, he has to wait out the hour to revert."
Setting Medici down, ignoring the cat's swipes, Alaric continued fondling its paw, musing, "This cute little rule suddenly feels terrifying."
Initially, he thought it was harmless. But when the first City of Silver resident turned into a cat, he realized that, aside from retaining their intellect, everything else... abilities, strength... was sealed, as if they were truly just cats.
Further tests confirmed that, barring external attacks triggering an early reversion, the transformation lasted the full hour.
Beneath its adorable facade, this was a terrifying sealing rule.
"But 20,000 believers could only seal a Sequence 2. When Azik came by, the rule failed... there wasn't enough power left in the area to affect him."
Alaric scribbled more mental notes. "So, binding angels with regional rules is tough. But that's fine. There aren't even 200 high-Sequence beings in this world combined. I could list them all. If someone breaks the rules, just beat them up."
Monitoring the whole world was hard, but keeping tabs on a handful of high-Sequence beings? No problem.
Or rather, others struggled to control high-Sequence beings due to insufficient strength, but Alaric's side had no such shortage.
"For ordinary people and low-to-mid-Sequence Beyonders, the rule's binding power is reliable. But binding alone isn't enough... punishment and reward mechanisms matter too." Alaric grinned, an idea sparking. "If I can turn people into cats, can rules make them luckier, stronger, healthier? Could they even grant temporary Beyonder abilities…"
The prospect thrilled him.
Alaric was a master at exploiting loopholes, always brimming with wild ideas. While pondering how the "Book of Stories" could impose rules to shape the world, he also wondered if it could introduce fun changes... like semi-popularizing Beyonder abilities.
In the mysterious world, Beyonder powers were hard to spread, not just due to limited Characteristics but because they were inherently dangerous. Every Beyonder danced on a tightrope, risking a fall into the abyss.
Before, Alaric had only considered advancing Beyonder technology, not truly democratizing abilities.
But now, with the "Book of Stories," He had a wild notion: could he use it to pseudo-popularize Beyonder abilities, letting ordinary people wield them temporarily?
Given the second limitation on his powers, it might not work, but it was worth a shot, right?
Alaric was eager to find out.
…
True to form, Alaric was a decisive doer. When curiosity struck, he acted immediately, launching a series of experiments.
After a flurry of tests, he confirmed some findings: "Granting others existing Beyonder abilities from this world via the 'Book of Stories' is feasible, but it has significant flaws."
"Abilities granted through regional rules only work within the area. Those granted to a specific group last only briefly. Both methods cap at Sequence 8, and the requirements for activation are steep. It's less like they truly gain Beyonder powers and more like they're borrowing the rule's effect."
"Granting abilities from other systems failed... probably because that counts as creating something from nothing." Alaric rubbed his chin, disappointed but not surprised, adding to his mental notes:
"Despite the flaws, this is still useful. Once we establish enforcement agencies, it could greatly offset the shortage of low-level Beyonders."
***
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