Free Web NovelChapter 306: Chapter 306 Wordless Code_1
The next afternoon, Aiden sat in his office, the Wordless Code resting on his desk.
After busying himself with most of the aftermath, Aiden finally had the time to closely study this spoils of war.
He placed his hand on The Codex, and the impression of the surrounding space immediately emerged in his mind, as if someone in his head had taken out a 3D map to show him.
On this map, a spherical space was highlighted and marked. This space perfectly encompassed the entire Rose Iron Prison.
This was the "domain" that he had set up, within which the Wordless Code was currently effective.
After snatching The Codex from Navi yesterday, Aiden had already discovered some patterns of the Wordless Code.
First, just as the laws of a country only apply within the territory of that country, the rules of the Wordless Code also only work within a pre-designated domain.
This domain appears centered around The Codex, its size adjustable, but its maximum extent is only about two to three city blocks.
A person can only write three rules on The Codex within a single day, and The Codex can only hold three concurrent rules at any one time, each rule can be abolished at any moment—either by proclamation or by simply crossing it out.
Within the specified domain, The Codex will forcefully ensure that all people and things comply with the written rules, and if the development of things affects the rules, then The Codex will directly apply the rules to those things.
For example, when Navi wrote, "No direct or indirect harm to one another," the traps in the prison that could cause harm would automatically deactivate, and when "No restrictions on personal freedom" was written, the cell doors would open and could not be locked again.
If the one who breaks the rules is a person, they would receive a "warning" from The Codex; if they continued to ignore the "warning," The Codex would directly deprive the violators of their ability to act, stopping their actions. If the particular rule also specified a punishment, The Codex would also enforce it.
Upon first contact with the Wordless Code, Aiden automatically understood the methods of punishment that The Codex was capable of, which totaled to four kinds:
The first was corporal punishment, where the violator would grow thorn-shaped black tattoos on their body; the areas where the tattoos appeared would be accompanied by unbearable intense pain, but they would not cause substantial harm to the violator, lasting about five minutes. If the violator insists on breaking the rule, then the punishment would continue.
The second was imprisonment; The Codex would create several invisible walls around the violator, confining them within this "cell." These "invisible" walls would only affect those who broke the rules, leaving other people and objects unaffected, and this would last for about an hour.
The third was exile, or expulsion; The Codex would transport the person who violated the rules within the domain to a dark space of "nothingness" for a while before returning them to a random location just outside the edge of the domain. Those subjected to "exile" would be unable to return within the domain for a day; if they forcibly entered, they would be thrown out in the same manner.
And the fourth was the death penalty—there is no need for further explanation; obviously, once the rule is broken, the violator is put to death. This ought to be considered the only one of the punishments capable of directly causing substantial harm to the rule-breaker.
Aiden thought for a moment, then tried writing in a blank page of the book, "Suicide is forbidden, violators will be put to death."
The rule seemed somewhat ridiculous but was logically feasible. If someone began a suicide attempt in the prison and had the capability to complete it, the rule of The Codex would take effect. The suicidal person would still die, but the cause of death should change from suicide to execution by The Codex.
However, once the rule was written, the script quickly became like that of an abolished rule, swallowed by the page without a trace.
Then, in the place where the rule had been written, a line of text appeared, neat as if it were printed, "Insufficient authority."
"This Divine Artifact really does recognize its master, doesn’t it?" Aiden mused to himself.
Clearly, the Wordless Code did not acknowledge his authority to enforce the death penalty.
Melifilia had once mentioned that while the Divine Artifact is just an object, it possesses the consciousness to merge with the appropriate ruler. It calls out to the "Saint" who has the qualifications to be a ruler. The closer the holder is to the corresponding Divine Artifact, the more authority it will grant them.
Presumably, if it were the Saint of the "Order" Divine Artifact, they would have the authority to use the death penalty.
Aiden thought it over and tried to write a new rule: "Any defiance of the commands of Aiden Galahad is forbidden."
Similarly, these characters were quickly absorbed, revealing again "Insufficient Permissions."
"It is forbidden for prisoners in the prison to disobey the commands of the jail guards."
"Insufficient Permissions."
"It is forbidden for Aiden Galahad to stand on his head within the domain."
"Insufficient Permissions."
Even as the holder within the domain of the Wordless Code, one cannot enjoy any privileges nor make the rules apply only to specific targets—all because the holder does not possess the necessary permissions.
In other words, perhaps with the correct permissions, one could do it.
Probably only by becoming the ruler who has merged with the "Order" of the Wordless Code could one freely control this power.
Aiden thought for a moment and then wrote down another line: "The weather is nice today."
The words were once again absorbed, but this time the response was: "Invalid Provision."
"It is forbidden to walk east and west at the same time."
The response was the same: "Invalid Provision."
"It is forbidden to violate the Prison Administration Regulations."
Still, "Invalid Provision."
...
After several experiments, Aiden found that rules that were meaningless, unclear, self-contradictory, or objectively impossible to enforce were all deemed "Invalid Provisions." Moreover, each rule had to be independently explainable; layered rules that depended on other rules were also not acknowledged. freёwebnovel.com
Although The Codex did not possess a consciousness of its own, Aiden still sensed a kind of "capriciousness" from this Divine Artifact—it was not something he could easily wield at his current strength.
But to some extent, it could now serve as his lifeline.
"The use of the power of the Authority of Hatred is forbidden; violators will receive corporal punishment," Aiden wrote.
Quickly, he got the response: "Invalid Provision."
Aiden thought for a moment and rewrote: "Actions taken against others with revenge as the motive are forbidden; violators will receive corporal punishment."
This time the rule was not absorbed—Aiden realized that the rules he laid out above could not directly interfere with the powers of the Authority by naming names, but they could target something that the Authority was capable of doing.
As an item of singular authority, it ranks below the ruler yet above the saints.
This Wordless Code should be able to impose restrictions on Mr. Bloodrobe; the only problem is... if the singular authority of "Hatred" in Mr. Bloodrobe’s possession could break this rule, then he would still face certain death.
With this thought, he stood up and took the lantern from the bookshelf.
