Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

At the time when he signed the Symbiotic Contract with the Banshees, Hughes had gained an ability that allowed him to sense the composition of matter through physical contact.

This ability had helped him multiple times. For example, the first time he came into contact with the Moths Chasing Fire, he immediately discovered Brother Kaeski’s identity.

But this ability was not that convenient, because the result it gave was only a single word. If he did not know the meaning of the word, then there was nothing he could do.

For instance, the one that surfaced in his mind at this moment: 【Named One】.

He had no understanding of what 【Named One】 was. Hughes had previously come into contact with other extraordinary beings, such as the 【Chrysalis】 of the Moths Chasing Fire or someone like Nora, a 【Burier】, but this strange ability had not given him any reminders then, as if what he touched were mere mortals.

Even the Banshees had been no different from ordinary people.

The only somewhat special case was that one lying inside the Stellar Furnace. When Hughes touched It, the prompt he received was 【Pollution】—which was normal enough. Its body was filled with pollution and had long since lost any self-awareness.

This was the first time he had sensed such an entry on a living person.

Brother Kaeski did not count. Although Hughes had never asked in detail, that should have been some sort of non-human construct, and the perception at that time had been just a pile of materials.

The little girl before him now was probably not an ordinary person.

And Gwen?

He immediately recalled the Gwen from within his worker link, a Northlander, a refugee, and the age matched as well. She should indeed be the person standing before him now.

But Gwen should have been a mere mortal, nearly starved to death before. If not for Jeremiah helping her find wild vegetables and Beatrice providing her with some secret body-strengthening methods—

Hiss.

Could it be that she had somehow managed to come into contact with the extraordinary on her own? Was it really that easy to touch upon the extraordinary? Did it not require all sorts of special resources? And even if one became extraordinary, would it trigger a prompt like this 【Named One】?

Gwen was currently raising her head, her snow-white pupils looking over with innocent eyes.

Countless thoughts passed through Hughes’ mind, but he forcibly suppressed them. After exchanging a few casual pleasantries, he left. He had to properly investigate what this 【Named One】 was. Blood Harbor had only just begun its Construction; he could not afford more trouble.

Besides, he now needed to confirm something else.

His route turned, and he made a trip to the literacy class.

Zoe was still teaching. Hughes patiently waited for half a day, and only after the class had ended did he speak with her.

“Literacy class—how has it been recently?”

“Not bad. Lately, more and more people have been coming to class. Many who originally just wanted to scrounge a meal are now earnestly studying.”

“Has there been anything unusual in Blood Harbor? For example, rumors and such?”

Zoe’s literacy class dealt with the lower strata of Blood Harbor. She and the Cult of the Hidden could easily obtain information.

Since Gwen herself was within the Cult of the Hidden, Hughes did not want to startle the snake. Instead, he came to Zoe first.

Zoe froze for a moment, her expression turning grim: “So you’ve found out after all, my lord.”

Hughes raised his brow. So there really was something?

“There are some in the Cult of the Hidden secretly worshipping you. It has now gradually spread into Blood Harbor as well. I often hear such things.”

“.”

Alright, this was a discovery he would rather not have had.

“Is it the kind of worship I am imagining?”

Zoe nodded reluctantly: “They still worship you as a god, calling you their Lord. But they no longer show it openly, nor do they proselytize in public.”

Hughes was silent for a long while before sighing: “It seems the spread of education in Blood Harbor still needs to be accelerated.”

Blind faith was difficult to solve directly through forceful means. In fact, it often backfired: the more external pressure there was, the firmer the belief became.

But education could.

Let people understand the principles behind those seemingly miraculous constructs, and then there would be no messy superstitions. Just like the Holy Guard—they had witnessed the greater power of Castel, yet they did not fall into superstition toward Hughes. At most, there was some mild reverence in proportion to his deeds.

That was the meaning of education.

“My lord, this won’t cause Cognitive Interference, will it?”

Hughes was stunned. Ah, this—

Now Hughes could not sit still. He shoved the file in his hands into Zoe’s, turned around, and left: “I’ll go ask!”

Zoe did not notice that when Hughes handed her the file, their fingers brushed briefly.

That very night, Hughes sailed back to Castel. If not for concerns about appearances, he would have swum back directly.

When he touched Zoe, his ability had not given him any feedback at all. Zoe was no different from anyone else.

This was strange. Hughes had thought that the 【Named One】 must be related to the threads of his worker link. After all, Gwen was one of the linked. Could he have been mistaken?

Perhaps Gwen herself had some special trait?

After returning to the island, Hughes immediately summoned Richard, Tata, and the others from the Moths Chasing Fire.

After briefly explaining the situation, he asked with some concern: “Everyone, has such a thing occurred before in the extraordinary world? Could it cause troubles such as Cognitive Interference?”

Cognitive Interference itself was the will of individuals piercing through the High Wall of reality. People worshipping him as a god—no matter how one looked at it, this was problematic.

First, there was the sheer number of them. Second, their thoughts were firm, given that they were already conducting underground gatherings. Clearly, a large group of people truly believed.

And also, their cognition was quite unified: all of them worshipping him as a god. That meant the will of many would merge into one.

The more he thought about it, the more dangerous it seemed!

The members of the Moths Chasing Fire exchanged glances, and it was Richard who spoke first: “My lord, do you believe yourself to be a god?”

“Of course not.”

“Then there is nothing to worry about.” He pushed up his monocle and nodded: “The essence of Cognitive Interference is actually a Confrontation of Will. This is why objects are more prone to Cognitive Interference, such as the soap that once caused trouble—because they have no self-will.”

“For living beings, every moment is a confrontation of will against the world. For example, right now—you know who you are, you know what you are like. That is your cognition, and it imprints your reflection upon the world.”

Hughes frowned, pondering for a moment: “That sounds as if I don’t actually exist in this world at all.”

“The present world is a projection of the Sea of Unawareness. Our world is merely an appearance. This is why information can be obtained through the Sea of Unawareness—because those barriers never truly existed. The world is but the illusion of the soul.”

What kind of bizarre theory was this?

Hughes felt his head ache from listening. This was far too idealist!

He had always firmly believed the world was material—or at least a significant part of it was material. Both Cognitive Interference and Confrontation of Will had only limited impact.

“For example, the wall you see before you—it might not actually be able to block you. On the dimension of the Sea of Unawareness, it may not exist.”

“Klein bottle?”

Now it was Richard’s turn to be dumbfounded: “What?”