Warhammer: The Time Traveler

Chapter 121 Sage's Advancement (First Update)
As the terms of the agreement were entered into the core database of the Forging World, Chen Yu's sage advancement process was also initiated.

This was not a public celebration, but a secret ceremony performed within the Mechanicus, strictly following ancient rituals.

The ceremony was held in the “Data Sanctuary” located deep within the main furnace area.

This is a huge circular hall with walls made of cooled lava and embedded data conduits, and countless tiny indicator lights twinkling in the darkness like a nebula.

The air was filled with a mixture of ozone, incense, and the smell of hot metal.

In the center of the hall is a recessed ceremonial area, the floor of which is engraved with intricate binary prayers and gear patterns.

The only participants in the ceremony were the oversight sage Vox, the three most senior resident sages, and Chen Yu, the main figure.

Everyone was dressed in the most formal red robes, their mechanical tentacles and optical lenses gleaming coldly in the dim light.

The Great Sage Vox is seated in the main position, his tracked platform connected to the ground data interface, serving as the presiding officer and witness of the ceremony.

There were no rousing speeches, nor were there crowds of onlookers.

The entire ceremony took place in near-absolute silence, with only the faint hum of the servo skull as it floated, the low pulsation of the furnace in the distance, and the subtle hissing of data streams passing through cables.

The core elements of promotion are "knowledge review" and "authority transfer".

The three sages connected directly to Chen Yu's core of thought via data cables, conducting high-speed question-and-answer sessions using binary code. They examined his understanding of the doctrines of the Mechanicus, his grasp of technological ethics, and especially questioned him about the technical details and potential risks of the "ancient logic core" he had discovered.

Chen Yu's core logic operates efficiently, responding to all questions with precise and rigorous data flow. His answers conform to the doctrinal framework, while cleverly concealing the essence of the rampant AI beneath the explanation of a "unique and ancient architecture."

The inspection lasted for a full standard time.

The crucial moment arrived when the last sage disconnected the data connection and sent a single green light code to Vox to indicate his approval.

The Great Sage Vox slowly raised his main mechanical tentacle, the end of which held a metal scepter about 1.5 meters long.

This "Explorer's Scepter" is made entirely of dark metal, with fine circuit patterns and patterns of exploring unknown star fields etched on the shaft. At the top is a slowly rotating, complex gear set, and in the center is a crystal that emits a soft blue light.

"In the name of the Om Messiah, and by the authority granted by the Martian Council," Vox's synthesized voice echoed in the temple with unprecedented solemnity, "in recognition of Father Chen Yu's outstanding achievements in the path of exploration, his recovery of lost technological relics, and his infusion of new vitality and possibilities into the future of Nexus... his knowledge, his will, and his dedication to the mechanical way have been divinely examined."

He held the scepter level and handed it to Chen Yu.

"Today, we bestow upon him the rank and authority of 'Sage of Exploration.' May you wield this scepter, guide the path of exploration, unravel the principles of all things, bring glory to the god of all machines, and open up the unknown territories."

Chen Yu extended his modified right hand and firmly grasped the shaft of the scepter.

At the moment of contact, he could feel a faint flow of energy entering his system through the scepter, a sign that his permissions had been activated.

At the same time, massive amounts of data—including higher-level database access keys, legal qualifications to independently lead research projects, authority to mobilize a certain size of friars and resources, and basic codes for applying for and commanding starships—flooded into the core of his logic like a burst dam.

"It is my duty, and I cannot shirk it. The pursuit of knowledge is endless." Chen Yu responded with a standard formula, his synthesized voice clearly audible in the silent temple.

The ceremony has now concluded.

There were no cheers, no congratulations. The three sages silently nodded slightly to him, then turned and left one by one, their red robes brushing against the cold ground behind them.

Great Sage Vox gave Chen Yu one last look. A complex emotion flashed in the human's eyes, perhaps expectation, perhaps warning. Then he drove the tracked platform and disappeared outside the side gate of the temple.

Chen Yu stood alone in the center of the temple, holding the Explorer's Scepter, a symbol of status and power. The cold metallic touch was transmitted through the sensors, and the gears at the top of the scepter emitted an almost imperceptible whirring sound.

He knew that this scepter was not just a symbol, but a key, an interface, which officially launched his career as a mid-level manager in the Mechanicus.

But this is just the beginning.

The lunar-class cruiser that he was about to acquire would be his future mobile base and laboratory, the key to freeing him from fixed constraints, allowing him to traverse the cosmos freely, and connecting the two worlds.

His relationship with Neksam and the overseer, the great sage Vox, also entered a new phase based on shared interests.
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Leaving the Data Sanctuary and standing on the high-level observation platform in the main furnace area, Chen Yu's gaze passed over the massive but weary ring factory below and landed on the magnificent yet incomplete star ring suspended in orbit.

His optical lens quickly locked onto and magnified a specific area—the construction dock where the Luna-class cruiser, numbered NXS-07, was located.

There, the skeleton of his future flagship, the Luna-class cruiser, floated silently.

From a distance, NXS-07 looks more like the skeleton of a giant beast stripped of most of its flesh and blood than a warship.

Its five-kilometer-long hull outline has already taken shape. The keel, forged from high-purity refined gold, shines with a cold, hard, and expensive light under the starlight, showcasing the ambition and resource investment of the empire at its peak during the final stage of the Great Expedition.

However, the project came to an abrupt halt on this sturdy framework.

Most of the ship's hull remains "open," with its massive internal structure exposed in a vacuum like an anatomical diagram.

The massive base reserved for the macro cannon assembly and the light spear array was empty, like a black hole resembling an eye socket; the ship's hull, which should have been covered by layers of thick armor plates, now only had a crisscrossing structural framework, like ribs without muscles; the energy conduits and data cables, several kilometers long, floated around the hull like severed nerves, their ends exposed.

On the exterior of the ship, some abandoned giant construction equipment can still be seen, such as the cantilever of the gantry crane standing still, and the robotic arm of the welding platform maintaining its final posture.

Some of the temporary airlocks used for construction were open, revealing dark and unfinished spaces inside.

Over decades of neglect, micrometeorites and cosmic dust have shrouded this "skeleton" in a veil of gray.

There were no fluctuations from the force field shield generator, no faint light from the engine nozzles, and no identification signals composed of lights from various parts of the ship.

It anchored silently and lifelessly in the dock, like a forgotten dream, a sunken asset that had been invested in at great cost but could not generate any return.

It is both a testament to its past glory and a silent declaration of its current predicament, its massive size continuously consuming the already strained resources of the world that were once built.

Chen Yu's mind raced as he analyzed the current state of the ship.

The future of the empire is shrouded in gloom, and the dilemma of forging the world is evident.

But his own path became increasingly clear with the confirmation of his identity as a sage and the acquisition of this highly promising ship.

This unfinished cruiser represents both a challenge and an unparalleled opportunity.

Its "incompleteness" gave him the greatest design freedom.

Next, he needs to closely monitor the progress of NXS-07's basic modifications, restoring it from a skeleton to at least a functional body. At the same time, he also needs to begin preparing for his return to the cyberpunk world and for further, more in-depth cross-dimensional research that may require the ship as a platform.

The Explorer's Scepter felt cold against his hand. The road ahead was full of challenges, but also full of unprecedented possibilities because of this warship waiting to be given a new life.

(End of this chapter)