Chapter 50: Terrifying Hypothesis!

She can only have one active at a time.

This was incredibly important news to him!

If Alice wrote something too long or too difficult, she was basically trapping herself until it succeeded or failed.

But of course, he also noticed that Alice would almost never write in that way.

Like I thought, she really is way too good at this ability than she is at fighting. Is it her divine ability?

In the eighth and ninth simulations, Alaric experimented with the length of the sentences.

He of course couldn’t influence the length of her sentences, but since he was stronger, he could stall, defend, and find out which kind of sentences were troublesome.

And exactly as he had thought, he noticed that shorter ones were much more troublesome.

[Alice entered Alaric’s guard.]

That sentence gave reality a lot more freedom than something overly specific.

Alice didn’t need to dodge a particular knife in a particular direction or attack a particular place.

She only needed to somehow get close.

The ability took advantage of every opportunity available to fulfill that one condition.

However, once she entered his guard, Alaric was still far stronger physically.

He slammed his elbow into her and ended the fight soon afterward.

The tenth and final simulation was the one where Alaric stopped testing and tried fighting while using everything he had learned.

He read the sentence the instant it appeared.

He understood the outcome Alice was trying to force.

Then he deliberately acted in ways that made that outcome more difficult while exploiting the fact that she couldn’t write another narrative until the first one disappeared.

Alice still managed to surprise him several times.

But the difference in their current strength was simply too large.

A few minutes later, Alaric killed her and returned to his study.

He leaned back into his chair while going through everything he had learned.

The pen writes whatever outcome she intends to force. Her and even opponent’s body moves in whatever way helps fulfill it, and reality itself seems to bend slightly toward making the written event happen.

But it can’t do something impossible.

And only one writing can exist at a time.

The ability was insane, but Alice was too weak to fully take advantage of it currently.

Alaric had named that ability - Forced Narrative.

Then he suddenly thought of something.

Wait.

He straightened in his chair.

System, do you automatically know all the abilities and secrets of anyone I choose for Combat Simulation?

[Negative.]

[Combat Simulation may only reproduce abilities previously recorded by the System.]

Alaric frowned when he read the message.

I have never seen Alice use this ability before. How did you record it?

The answer arrived soon after.

[An ability must be activated within the System’s recording range around the host before it may be reproduced through Combat Simulation.]

What?

Alaric narrowed his eyes.

So she used this ability around me at some point.

And judging from how I didn’t feel any mana fluctuation when Alice was using this ability in the simulations, it must be a divine ability.

Alaric must admit, it was a really strong divine ability. At least, it was much better than the one that tiny shit full of strange ideas and wrong attitude had.

But as Alaric thought about the ability more carefully, another possibility appeared in his mind.

What if this isn’t only useful in a fight?

His expression gradually turned serious.

In the combat simulations, Alice had written what she wanted to happen, then her body, his own actions to some extent, and even random coincidences around them had begun moving toward that result.

There was nothing about the ability which suggested that it could only be used for combat.

What if Alice wrote about something happening tomorrow?

What if she wrote that two people would meet?

Or that someone would travel somewhere, discover something, fight someone, or make a particular decision?

If all those things were realistically possible, would reality itself begin arranging events to make her writing come true?

Okay wait. That sounds way more terrifying than using it to dodge some knives.

Then Alaric became even bolder with his thoughts.

What if Alice had already written something related to the events happening in this world?

Nah. I don’t think that’s possible.

He immediately found a problem with that hypothesis.

From what he had seen in the simulations, two writings couldn’t overlap.

If Alice currently had some long term narrative influencing reality, she shouldn’t be capable of activating Forced Narrative again until that writing either became reality or failed.

Yet the System had clearly recorded her ability.

Maybe I’m thinking too much. She could’ve used it in some fight or another situation when she was near me without me noticing.

That seemed much more reasonable.

System, is your range of detection for these abilities large?

[It is dependent on a variety of factors. It would be better if the host provides a situation.]

What if Alice used that divine ability in the town she was staying at while I was in Moliken forest? Could you detect it?

[Yes.]

So basically, the System’s recording range is large enough that Alice doesn’t even need to be anywhere near me personally.

She could’ve used that divine ability anywhere and I wouldn’t have seen that pen at all.

But Alaric still felt that something was bothering him.

He asked the System.

If an ability is currently active somewhere within your recording range, but the owner is extremely far away from me, can you record it?

[Negative.]

[The owner of the ability must also be within recording range.]

Alaric nodded slowly.

That made sense.

Then what if the owner is standing right beside me, but the ability itself was activated somewhere extremely far away? Can you record the ability through the owner?

[Negative.]

[The active effects of the ability must enter recording range.]

Alaric’s fingers stopped tapping against the desk.

He stared at the two answers for several seconds before asking another question.

What if both the owner and the active effect are within range, but the ability was activated long before either of them entered your recording range?

This time, the answer made his body stiffen.

[The activation time is irrelevant.]

[As long as the ability remains active while both its owner and effects enter recording range, the System may record it.]

Alaric slowly leaned back into his chair.

So Alice didn’t necessarily activate the Forced Narrative after meeting him.

She didn’t even need to have activated it after he transmigrated into this world.

If something she had written previously was still being forced upon reality, then the moment Alice came close enough to him while that influence was active, the System could have recorded her ability.

And Alice had already demonstrated knowledge of future events.

She knew about the mana crystal deposit which wasn’t supposed to be discovered for years.

She had tried to push reality toward certain events like giving Evan his Certificate of Service and making him leave House Orlen.

Alaric’s heartbeat gradually accelerated.

He sat completely still as an absolutely ridiculous possibility entered his mind.

Alice wasn’t from Earth.

She had never recognized the name of the novel.

Yet she knew its events. What if it wasn’t some divination ability but literally because she had written those events herself?

His eyes slowly widened in horror.

Tales of Golden Era