Codex Null: Simulation Through Madness

After Noel threw out his question, the room fell into silence.

Selena with her turbulent thoughts, tried to piece together what Noel truly had in mind, yet the more she considered his words, the less certain she became. The calm confidence in his tone unsettled her, gnawing at her composure.

In the depths of her eyes, concern and worry flickered.

She wanted to do something… anything.

But the problem was, she couldn't do more than she was already doing.

Anything beyond this would mean restraining Noel completely, imprisoning him outright.

And that was the last resort.

From his confident tone, where even after reaching this point, and he had regained some memories, that didn't change, she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe… he actually had something that could help with his condition.

But then… what was it? What is his confidence based on?

She had been watching him closely, tracking his every move for twenty-four hours a day. How could she have missed it?

Selena kept thinking, her eyes never leaving the sight of Lilith sitting on Noel's lap, wrapped snugly in his arms.

Her flushed cheeks and downcast eyes painting the image of a shy, demure girl.

Yet the faint quiver in her breath, the way her thighs pressed together, and the subtle shift of her hips toward him told a far less innocent story.

To Selena, it was like watching a cat in heat, rubbing its body against a place it shouldn't.

Her fists clenched tightly at her sides.

She had wanted to talk to Lilith, if possible, to ask if she had noticed anything else about Noel.

But.

"Checking that you were fine… Then, I'll take my leave," Selena said at last, rising to her feet.

'Talking to Lilith will have to wait.'

With that thought, she turned and left.

And Noel watching her fading back as she walked away, his eyes narrowed.

Once again, he felt how Selena was the hardest person to deal with, and that he needed more ammunition before confronting her. So, hopefully, the Null Points he would gain would be enough to solve his current condition.

With these thoughts swirling in his head, Noel wanted to leave and continue with his simulations. But Lilith, who seemed to like the seat in his lap quite a lot, clung to him for some time, refusing to let go. And so he had to remain like that with her for a while, until he was finally able to slip away.

The first thing Noel noticed upon returning to his room was the already fixed door. He didn't bother with it, however, and instead turned his attention to the ring he had gotten from Lilith. Reaching into it, he took out a white crystal.

[Soul Crystal]

Condensed Soul Power, made with a sloppy technique.

Null Point Value: 8

[Do you want to offer the Soul Crystal to the Codex Null?]

Looking at the result of the appraisal, Noel, without changing his expression, took out another crystal.

[Soul Crystal]

Condensed Soul Power, made with a refined technique.

Null Point Value: 10

He tried several more with other crystals, and in the end arrived at the conclusion that Soul Crystals usually had a Null Point Value of 9 or 10. Sometimes, 8 or 11 would appear, but they were rare.

Noel checked the ring on his finger and counted — there were a little more than 350 Soul Crystals inside. That meant three premium simulations, each with a value of 1,000.

Would they give him the kind of talent he wanted?

While that question lingered in his mind, his hands didn't stop.

He continued offering one Soul Crystal after another to the Codex Null. But feeling like it was taking too long at this pace, he focused his intention more clearly, forming the thought to offer them all at once.

[Do you want to offer 341 Soul Crystals to the Codex Null?]

Having succeeded in shaping his intent, Noel didn't hesitate — he agreed immediately.

[You have received 3,358 Null Points.]

A faint smile touched his lips at that number, one he hadn't expected to see any time soon. Moving on, he checked his total Null Points, finding it had reached exactly 3,648, before finally shifting to his next task.

He opened his notebook, flipping back to the page where he had written Coren Merrow. Beneath it, he added a single word… survive.

What happened earlier, was not something he had expected — he hadn't thought he would gain this many Null Points so quickly.

But unexpected or not… it was time to heal his soul.

And so, with that in mind, he finally turned to his Codex Null.

[Do you want to spend 1,000 Null Points to start a Premium Simulation?]

The number of spent Null Points changed — he passed the hundred and went straight into the thousand. Even then, he didn't pause, agreeing without hesitation.

[Life Simulation begins.]

[21 years old. You looked at the notebook in front of you and could feel that something was off.]

[After checking everything again, and thinking about the conversation and what had just happened earlier, you frowned, as you seemed to have understood something.]

[But, knowing there was no use dwelling on it, in the end you simply chose to rest, as you were already far too exhausted after your soul had suddenly healed.]

[Two months passed, but you did nothing aside from practicing the Blood Scripture.]

[The tension between you, Selena, and Lilith seemed to have eased, yet you could feel that the number of people monitoring you had actually increased.]

[Still, you left them alone.]

[Another two months passed, and you had already reached 100% in the Vital Purification stage. You were now making progress toward breaking through to the next stage — Six Gates.]

[You were training as usual when Serah, wearing a conflicted expression, came to see you. She told you that you were right, and asked what kind of help you wanted from her.]

[And while you had already decided on the favor you intended to ask, you still told her that it was not yet the time, and that you would inform her what you needed help with later.]