A Genius's Remark

Elias Salas, Genius Club #56.

He was also a legendary figure. The Synesthesia Beacon had been his invention.

After inventing it, he had casually tossed it aside. Yet later, the Genius Society had spent an unknown number of Amber Eras researching it before barely managing to reproduce it.

Even so, no one knew how many unresolved mysteries remained between the replica and the original that this genius had made on a whim—mysteries that could not be replicated.

The Genius Club's Invitation Letters had also been his invention, later adopted by the Lord of Wisdom.

Every member who joined the Genius Club received one.

"Ding-ling-ling—"

Looking at the invitation notification trembling on the Genius Club Invitation Letter in his hand, Hermes blinked. Connecting through Imaginary Energy, he immediately knew who had sent the invitation through the letter.

Without much hesitation, Hermes began channeling Imaginary power at a specific frequency.

In an instant, after a flash of light, a teleportation wave entered his perception.

Soon afterward, the teleportation wave formed a door before him.

With a gentle push, the place where the Genius Club gathered lay beyond it.

Creak—

He pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Unlike the Pioneer Faction's method of warp travel, the Wisdom Faction's teleportation seemed to differ in quite a few ways.

When his feet touched solid ground again, Hermes saw a council table standing beneath a starry sky.

Streams of data flickered rapidly through his eyes as he gained a preliminary grasp of some of the underlying logic of this place.

It seemed not to exist within the Universal Galaxy in the conventional sense.

As for whether it existed within the Sea of Quantum or was sustained through Dimensional Technology, that remained unclear for now.

Looking up, he saw that several figures had already arrived.

Herta, dressed in Lolita fashion with an enormous wizard's hat atop her head.

Ruan Mei, brimming with Eastern charm.

Screwllum, with his little mechanical head.

And...

A rather youthful-looking boy—Stephan Lloyd!

"Yo! Hermes, number eighty-four! I thought you weren't coming this time!"

Seeing him, Herta sounded rather surprised.

Having grown accustomed to the eccentric individuality of her Genius Club colleagues, having two people this normal show up at once was practically winning the lottery!

"I was merely wrapping up my experiment and got delayed for a while."

Hermes replied calmly, "I had been near the edge of Ix's incarnation. Even I had to be careful, or I might have been swept into the Abyss of Self-destruction. That would have been troublesome."

"Ix's incarnation?"

"That really is troublesome."

The geniuses present all nodded slightly at his words.

Even though what Hermes had said would have sounded exceedingly arrogant within the Universal Galaxy.

After all, those who pursued Self-destruction had always been a major affliction of the universe. Nearly all of them ventured ever deeper into Nihility before falling into Self-destruction, unable to escape.

But—

As geniuses standing at the pinnacle of the universe, they naturally did not lack methods of anchoring themselves.

To them, so long as they did not delve too deeply into the vortex of Self-destruction, they still had ways to break free.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Screwllum."

"Genius Club #76."

"I am pleased by your arrival."

The distinct mechanical voice of an intelligent machine emerged from Screwllum's vocal apparatus.

Though Screwllum appeared to possess the cold stiffness unique to intelligent machines, Hermes could nonetheless discern the elegance unique to a gentleman from this intelligent machine.

"Hello, I'm Hermes."

Without any unnecessary introduction, Hermes responded crisply.

Everyone present was a genius. There was no need for pleasantries; a few short sentences were enough for them to gain a sufficient understanding of one another.

Besides, they had no need for excessive formalities.

After getting acquainted, they basically began getting down to business.

Very soon, everyone briefly introduced their own fields of research.

"Research field?"

Stephan Lloyd scratched the back of his head in distress. "Actually, I only learned a little about the scientific mainstream of the universe, then made a few toys based on my interests..."

After briefly introducing his little inventions, Stephan Lloyd asked in confusion, "And just like that, Lord of Wisdom descended and sent me an Invitation Letter..."

"Aren't these things all very easy to accomplish? Why did I need to be specifically invited in?"

Although Stephan Lloyd made it sound easy, if those words got out, they could directly infuriate many great scientists renowned across the universe to death.

But in truth, the few geniuses present all found it perfectly natural.

Although many exceptionally intelligent scholars pursued and longed to receive an invitation from the Genius Club, the truth was precisely the opposite.

It was not because one received an invitation from the Genius Club that one became a genius.

Rather, because they were geniuses, the Genius Club came to invite them.

Whether or not they joined the Genius Club would not affect them in the slightest.

It was not the Genius Club that added glory to them; rather, their inclusion continuously increased the Genius Club's prestige!

"The so-called Genius Club has always been nothing more than that to people like us."

Although Hermes had become a genuine genius through the talent of [Heaven Rewards Diligence], he had once been a Nameless, so he understood this well enough. "Back then, I longed for the stars, so I boarded the Stellaron Train and beheld the scenery of the endless universe..."

Hermes spoke with deep feeling about his past journeys. "Those were years I still miss even now. For a time, I believed I would walk ever farther down the path of pioneering, but just as I reached the threshold of becoming a Pioneer Envoy, Akivili's fall caught me completely off guard."

"The Path of Pioneering fell silent after that. Then an accident occurred in my hometown, so I returned home and spent some time developing a suitable planetary restoration technology for it, truly setting foot upon the Path of Wisdom!"

"Then, ten years ago, during a journey through the stars, I happened upon a civilized planet consumed by Nihility. Moved by what I saw, I began dedicated research."

"In the end, today, I naturally uncovered a trace of the essence of Imaginary and Quantum, and was crowned with Envoy Authority that belonged solely to myself."

Listening to Hermes's journey thus far, the few geniuses present were all quite interested.

He had first walked the Path of Pioneering and nearly reached the edge of becoming a Pioneer Envoy, only to switch paths and walk the Path of Wisdom?

No wonder Hermes had only been invited into the Genius Club after such a long time.

There were barriers between Paths.

Throughout the universe, few people could walk multiple Paths at once, much less reach their peaks simultaneously.

It had to be said that Stephan Lloyd truly deserved the title of genius.

But Hermes was no less outstanding.