Cyril wore an expression that said, I didn't say anything. You figured it out yourself, making Owen believe his judgment even more.
He leaped to his feet in excitement, looking at Cyril with delighted surprise. He felt the thrill of finally finding one of his own kind. Though Cyril was not a descendant of the same ancient family, they were alike, weren't they?
Seeing how he felt, Cyril continued:
"The fall of the Nation of the Evernight stemmed from the suppression of the Evernight Goddess's Church. As far as I know, the Abraham Family declined because their ancestor vanished, and that ancestor disappeared because the Evernight Goddess and the Lord of Storms joined forces to exile him from this world."
"In a sense, we're fellow sufferers."
"Is that so?"
Owen's eyes widened. Even he did not know this secret. Still, he did not doubt it. His father, who had only wanted to be an ordinary person, had left him very little information.
Cyril nodded lightly. "Assuming the family records I read weren't fabricated."
"So, should we rebuild the World Truth Society? A true mystical organization founded on mutual aid, mutual learning, and mutual support, seeking companions who can explore the mysterious world together."
"Of course!" Owen agreed without a moment's thought.
"That sounds incredibly cool! We'll build it into an organization worthy of standing alongside the glory of ancient families!"
Cyril smiled and raised his hand. The two completed a high-five in midair.
Smack!
Thus, a massive organization that would one day spread across the universe was established.
Chuunibyou teenagers really were easy to fool—no, persuade.
Collecting his thoughts, Cyril looked at Owen, who was still barely managing to envision their future, and smiled. "Back to our previous topic: have you considered changing to another Pathway, or taking the potion at a different time?"
"Why?" Owen asked with genuine seriousness this time, assuming the posture of a careful listener.
If there were an affection system, I should have gone from acquaintance to trusted by now, right?
After letting his thoughts wander briefly, he explained seriously, "If I remember correctly, the Abraham Family's decline was caused by a bloodline curse."
"And that bloodline curse should not have disappeared yet. Otherwise, your family would have long since regained its former glory."
Owen nodded lightly. "That's right. But since I haven't become a Beyonder yet, the curse hasn't manifested in me."
"But I believe that one day, I'll break this bloodline curse and lead the Abraham Family back to its former glory!"
Ignoring the chuunibyou declaration, Cyril pressed on. "Have you ever considered the principle behind the bloodline curse?"
"The principle? Isn't it rooted in the bloodline?"
Owen looked confused. In truth, he was confused.
Cyril shook his head lightly. "The bloodline is only one part of it. Another part should come from the Beyonder Pathway."
"A Beyonder Pathway?"
"The bloodline curse descends from above and can affect the entire Abraham Family, so it must have originated from the ancestor with the highest achievement."
"The same Beyonder Pathway also has a descending influence. If you choose the same Beyonder Pathway as that ancestor, the two effects combined will inevitably affect you more severely."
"Furthermore, spirituality grows most strongly during the Full Moon, which is also when Beyonder effects are at their strongest. Naturally, that includes curses."
"So, your best choice is to avoid the Full Moon and avoid the Apprentice Pathway."
Owen nodded as if he understood, though not entirely. He thought Cyril's words made sense, but asked, "If avoiding the Apprentice Pathway can avert the bloodline curse, then why has no family member succeeded in breaking it over the past thousand years?"
Having already prepared an answer, Cyril immediately said, "Obviously, avoiding the Apprentice Pathway can only weaken the curse, not eliminate it."
"Besides, with the forces of every side already formed, the world order stabilized, and enemies watching from all around, the difficulty of mastering a complete Pathway from nothing is self-evident."
"Or rather, even preserving the characteristics and formulas they already possessed was no easy task."
Owen nodded seriously. He had already accepted Cyril's words, but he still hesitated slightly.
"Changing the timing of my advancement isn't a problem, but if I change Pathways, I don't have any potion formulas besides those of the Apprentice Pathway."
Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Cyril snapped the fingers of his still-functional right hand and said leisurely, "But I do. And it's a complete Pathway—the Seer Pathway once controlled by the Antigonus Family."
"More importantly, the Apprentice Pathway and the Seer Pathway can be exchanged after the higher Sequences. That will better conceal your identity while ensuring there won't be any problems with later advancements."
"So, you intend to give me the Seer Pathway you possess?"
Owen stared blankly at him, repeatedly pursing his lips. Tears of gratitude were nearly welling up in his eyes when Cyril suddenly shook his head.
"Of course not. We'll exchange them. The Seer Pathway doesn't suit me, so I also need another complete Beyonder Pathway."
Owen did not suspect anything. The Abraham Family had a bloodline curse, and as another fallen noble family from the Fourth Epoch, the Antigonus Family had most likely suffered some kind of restriction as well. However, another issue troubled him.
"But I only have the potion formulas for Sequence 9 through Sequence 7 of the Apprentice Pathway."
Cyril did not mind at all. He was even a little excited, because he loved getting things for free.
"That's not a problem. Advancing from Sequence 9 to Sequence 7 will take quite some time, enough for us to obtain the subsequent potion formulas."
"And this is mutual assistance between members of our World Truth Society, isn't it?"
"Oh, right. Do you have paper and a pen?"
"Huh? I do!" The topic had shifted too quickly for Owen to react, but his body moved before his mind did, and he ran upstairs to fetch paper and a pen.
After receiving the notebook and fountain pen Owen handed over, Cyril generously wrote down the potion formulas for Sequence 9 through Sequence 5 of the Seer Pathway.
Of course, he knew Owen did not have enough Apprentice Pathway potion formulas to exchange. That was exactly the effect he wanted. Only by first making the other party owe him a favor could he reasonably—and perhaps even prompt Owen to willingly—let him freeload on a set of already-prepared Apprentice potion ingredients.
Anyway, I memorized all my Seer Pathway potion formulas while reading. Selling one copy earned me once; selling two copies earned me twice.
But then again, this part of my memory seemed unusually clear, like knowledge learned from textbooks over more than a decade—impossible to forget even if I wanted to. Was this also something special brought by a high-level soul?
As his thoughts drifted, Owen opened another notebook he had brought down and handed it over. It recorded the potion formulas for Sequence 9 through Sequence 7 of the Apprentice Pathway, which he had copied out earlier.
Sequence 9: Apprentice Main ingredients: 1 Gem-eating Insect, 1 Illusion Crystal. Supplementary ingredients: 10 drops of pure Goat-beard Grass dew, 90 milliliters of water from an ancient well, one flower grown from a corpse, 5 grams of soil contaminated by a Spirit World creature. This is the beginning of a mage school, following in the footsteps of freedom. Remember: do not force yourself, do not be arrogant, and understand the insignificance of your own strength. Sequence 8: Trickmaster ... Sequence 7: Astrologer ...
Seeing Cyril close the notebook in his hand, Owen naturally said, "Once I advance to Sequence 7, I can contact the Council of Elders through the special method of communication my father left behind. Then I'll be able to obtain the subsequent potion formulas."
"Also, the sentence after each potion formula is an admonition and revelation left behind by our family's ancestors. Only by following those words can one better master the power of the potion."
"The acting principles..." Cyril murmured, not particularly surprised.
Owen's father had only told him the family secrets while he was dying. There certainly had not been enough time to explain everything, so he could only write down some of the information in advance and wait for Owen to discover it himself.
As for why he had not explained it earlier, Cyril guessed that this father had not wanted his child to embark upon the path of a Beyonder.
Before you continue