"Settling now..."
"Current Chronicle Simulator — [1455 · Rose War]. Current progress: 100%."
"Achievements: King's Guidance — You guided the new King to pull out the Stone Sword and witnessed her embark on her pilgrimage to rule Albion.
Cornerstone of the Kingdom — You always played an indispensable and important role in the Albion royal family.
Turning the Tide — No matter how perilous the situation, your arrival could always reverse predetermined fate and lead to the correct outcome.
Sage — Your wisdom, your methods, your will, brought joy to your companions and despair to your adversaries.
Magus of the Court — You did not often use magic to directly solve problems, but legends about your mastery of magic will be passed down for all eternity.
Nightmare — You dragged tens of thousands of unsuspecting people into dreams at once; they will never wake up. Some price must always be paid; the important thing is to ensure the continuation of the King of Albiion's rule, to make her burn forever like an unquenchable fire, and to make her kingship unshakeable."
"Accomplishment — You reached the third stage of the Path of Ascension and completed your accomplishment."
"Overall Rating: A+++."
"Comment: The long pilgrimage finally reached its end. At the conclusion of the contradictory spiral, the Sage transformed herself into a spark, illuminating the path of history."
"Thanks to your efforts, another lost Secret History has been proven and incorporated into all histories."
"— We all salute you, [Knower]."
Heber leaned back in her chair and let out a long sigh.
The after-effects were too strong.
She picked up the water glass beside her, took a sip of water, and continued to look at the screen.
"Rewards being issued."
"Basic Rewards: 'Merlin's Compendium of Illusions' — Inside and out, mutually interchangeable, though it cannot achieve another imprint, it can satisfy almost all your daily needs;
Pseudo-Holy Sword · Stone Sword — The proof of Albion's kingship; you also possess partial ownership of it. The current highest liberation level is [Daybreak];
Nightmare Bloodline — Noble blood from the wilderness inhabitants, allowing you to be more adept at divination, dreams, and night wandering."
"A-rank Special Reward: [Avalon] — A blueprint to the future, a light that illuminates and dispels darkness, a key to opening hope.
After the Fourth History, all accomplishments were suppressed and erased by the present world. But there are exceptions, and not just one. This accomplishment will remain sealed until you reach [Daybreak]."
"All the above rewards are universal across all Chronicle Simulators."
"Please exit the Chronicle Simulator after claiming your rewards. We will then update the simulator version. Estimated update time: 24 hours."
Heber subconsciously sat up straight.
It was late now, but fortunately, her antique shop still had no customers.
"It really is a cheat code, huh... A bit different from what I imagined."
Heber had long had some suspicions about this Chronicle Simulator, which had appeared abruptly on her computer desktop in the form of a game.
Now, her suspicions were merely confirmed.
"Which cheat code's trial version has such a high threshold..." Heber put her hand to her forehead, letting out a helpless laugh, "Well, it's not too late now."
She clicked to claim.
The next instant, cobalt blue starlight descended from the sky.
It felt like a long lifetime had passed, yet it was but a flick of a finger.
Heber's petite body suddenly broke free from the computer chair, convulsing and falling backward as if struck by lightning.
However, just as she was about to fall, the gray-yellow old carpet suddenly expanded, grew taller, its color became more vibrant, and it even carried a sweet scent — it transformed into a giant piece of cheese.
The elastic cheese felt soft to the touch.
"Using illusion in the real world, it's such a wonderful feeling."
Heber snapped her fingers, and the sweet and tempting cheese folded and flattened out of thin air, returning to its original gray carpet form.
In fact, even if she didn't actively cancel it, it would revert to its original form after three to five minutes.
"I can understand the illusion part. Even if it can't compare to when I was playing 'Merlin,' with the Nightmare's blessing, it won't be much worse... But what's with the Stone Sword?"
Heber was completely puzzled: "I never pulled out the Stone Sword, did I?"
Neither the Stone Sword nor the sealed accomplishment could be tested.
As for the illusion, besides the time limit, its effectiveness was also weakened, yet even so, Heber was pleasantly surprised.
When she sat back in front of the computer, intending to exit the Chronicle Simulator, she found another line of text on the screen.
"Chronicle Simulator [Rose War] has been successfully recorded. This Chronicle Simulator belongs to the Fourth History."
This text flashed away, and then new text appeared on the dark green desktop.
"Chronicle Simulator is undergoing a version update. You will not be able to log into the simulator during the update. Estimated waiting time: 23 hours 59 minutes."
Heber clicked the mouse disbelievingly and found that not only could the simulator not be opened, but even the keyboard and mouse were unresponsive.
"No, why did it even lock my computer?"
After a few minutes of futile effort, Heber gave up.
By now, night had fully fallen. Church Street was brightly lit, and the clamor of tourists and pedestrians could be heard from the nearby square.
Heber pouted, got up, went to her bedroom closet, grabbed a thick coat, and put on her shoes.
"Closing up."
She walked outside, flipped the sign to the "Closed" side, and locked the door.
It was too late to make dinner now; she would have to eat out... Speaking of which, a new restaurant seemed to have opened on the other side of the square two months ago.
Albion cuisine, like British cuisine in her original world, had a flavor that was hard to describe.
It wasn't that it was terribly bad, but the difference between its best and worst was huge.
When Heber first transmigrated, even with psychological preparation, she was still overwhelmed by the continuous assault of steamed potatoes, roasted potatoes, potato chips, and mashed potatoes.
After barely adapting to this combo, came the passionate combination of battered fried fish and cold sandwiches.
It wasn't to the point of being inedible, but it was only enough to fill her stomach.
Fortunately, Heber's diet had flexible boundaries, and so did Albion. On the other side of the square, not far from Church Street, a variety of restaurants from around the world gathered.
Some of them advertised "authentic original flavors," while others had adapted their dishes to local tastes.
Heber's destination was a Gaul restaurant that had opened two months ago. Contrary to expectations, this restaurant's specialty was not high-end Gaul cuisine, but rather affordable meat stew.
Here, an average lunch cost only fifteen euros, and dinner, including drinks, cost twenty euros.
The recipe for meat stew was simple, but its origin dated back more than a hundred years to the Fourth History, the 1850s.
That was Gaul's golden age. At that time, a large number of industrial workers needed food that was filling and affordable, so thick soup made from beef scraps came into being. In 1896, the first restaurant featuring meat stew as its specialty was established in Paris, the capital of Gaul, and it is still operating in Paris today.
When Heber entered the restaurant, the seats on the first floor were already full.
The lobby manager was ushering waiters to clean up to make space for new customers.
"Welcome..."
The lobby manager, dressed in a neatly pressed suit, turned around, and when she saw Heber, her voice unconsciously dropped.
The manager's face immediately stiffened, but fortunately, the noisy sounds in the restaurant served as a cover, and no one else noticed her lapse.
She quickly turned around, grabbed a towel from the counter behind her, and wiped the sweat from her face.
"I'm not feeling too well, I need to go rest… You take that customer to the second floor first." The manager said to the waiter beside him.