Cedric

Sir Cedric Bumblethorpe is a British collector whose attempt to “liberate” a South American artifact binds him to the Cultural History Museum System. Generations later, the system has made his collection into a source of powers and brings him to Obsidian, where he discovers cultivation services more effective than his hoarded exhibits. (Chapters 1777–1781)

Biography

From collector to Obsidian member

Cedric acquires his system when a jeweled ceremonial weapon breaks during a conflict over his attempted removal of it. The Cultural History Museum System lets him use effects associated with exhibited objects and carries his courtyard through a disastrous world into Obsidian. Still interpreting exploitation as preservation, he adapts quickly when other system hosts explain that the organization can protect and upgrade people like him. (Chapters 1777–1780)

Under the name Nathraval, Cedric trades historical information and minor techniques, gives useful museum-shop souvenirs to his guides, and tests Obsidian's Meditation room. Two unnoticed weeks produce measurable immortal progress, overturning his confidence in an imperial cultivation mat. He then spends heavily to pursue the Gambler's Luck inheritance, shifting from complacent ownership toward active cultivation through opportunities his collection alone cannot provide. (Chapter 1781)

Appearance and personality

Cedric wears a purple velvet coat with a soft scarf and habitually grips his lapels when pleased. He is formal, cheerfully oblivious, acquisitive, and deeply self-serving beneath polished manners; his account of “cultural preservation” refuses to recognize the violence of taking sacred objects. He is nevertheless generous to new allies and readily revises his methods when a better advantage becomes obvious. (Chapters 1777–1781)

Abilities and cultivation

Cedric is a human immortal bonded to the Cultural History Museum System. Items registered as exhibits can provide usable effects, including a cultivation mat's bonus, while the museum shop produces temporary tools such as anti-undead mummy bandages. The system's full rules are not explained, and access depends on possessing and cataloguing artifacts. Obsidian cultivation and inheritance services exceed his existing benefits, showing that collection breadth does not guarantee optimal advancement. (Chapters 1778–1781)

Relationships

• Obsidian members: LovelessPenguin, Skip, and Greaves orient Cedric, and he repays them with museum-shop souvenirs before following their recommended path. (Chapters 1780–1781)
• Cultural History Museum System: The system transforms Cedric's collecting into supernatural infrastructure and transports his estate into a new environment. (Chapters 1778–1780)

Items

• Museum exhibits: Cedric's collection includes a cultivation mat and other artifacts whose recorded histories grant benefits through his system. No individual exhibit is a finalized item page. (Chapters 1778–1781)