Apprentice

After putting away the notebook containing the potion formula for the "Apprentice" Pathway and explaining the existence of the Acting Method, Cyril finally looked up and asked,

"If you choose the 'Seer' Pathway, may I buy the 'Apprentice' potion ingredients you have?"

Owen readily nodded. "Of course. Just take them and use them. Whether it's the potion formulas for 'Faceless' and 'Marionettist' or the Acting Method, their value already exceeds that of these ingredients."

"Wait a moment. I'll go get the ingredients for you."

Cyril raised a hand to stop him. "Aren't you going to check whether the potion formulas I gave you are real first?"

Only then did Owen slap his forehead. "Right, I was so excited that I forgot about that. But I trust you."

Though he said he trusted him, Owen still took a Crystal Ball slightly smaller than an adult's fist from the left pocket of his coat.

It was an exceptionally pure Crystal Ball, azure and translucent, with faint specks of starlight flickering within.

Cyril gave it a curious extra glance. When he had gone to Backlund University to ask Professor Fells for leave, he had noticed the dense spiritual radiance in Owen's pocket and known that Owen carried a mystical item with him.

It was probably around Sequence 8 to Sequence 7 in strength. Since it took the form of a Crystal Ball, it most likely corresponded to an Astrologer Beyonder Characteristic.

Seeming to notice the confusion on his face, Owen turned his head and explained,

"This is a mystical item my father left behind. I call it the Fate Crystal Ball. As long as I carry it, it can interfere with divination and a Beyonder's spiritual intuition. Besides that, I can actively use it for divination to receive revelations from Fate. It can help avoid danger and seek opportunities."

"But revelations from Fate aren't shortcuts. After every divination, you encounter varying degrees of danger depending on how much revelation you receive."

"Most of the time, though, it's only things like losing money, tripping on level ground, running into thieves, or getting robbed by hooligans. There's no lethal danger."

Cyril glanced at his injured shoulder and seemed to understand something.

"So we ran into those Highlanders earlier because you'd used it for divination before?"

"Uh, probably."

Owen scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He had brought the danger, yet it was the friend beside him who had been injured.

Cyril himself did not care too much. A minor injury in exchange for three potion formulas and a complete set of ingredients was a profit no matter how he looked at it.

After a brief pause, he asked another question. "Did you want to consume the potion during the Full Moon before because you received a revelation from this Crystal Ball too?"

"That's right." Owen's nod froze, and then realization struck him belatedly. "No wonder I didn't encounter danger after that divination. The danger had been hidden within Fate's revelation!"

Cyril nodded lightly. "That should be this mystical item's hidden negative effect. You'd better not use it for divination so casually in the future."

"Hmm... it seems you won't really need it anymore anyway. The Sequence 9 Pathway I gave you is 'Seer.'"

Owen's hand froze in midair as he held the Fate Crystal Ball for divination. Suddenly, the mystical item that had always been fairly useful felt scalding hot. Hiding danger within the revelations gained from divination was truly difficult to guard against.

After hesitating for a moment, he still placed the Fate Crystal Ball atop the notebook containing the Seer Pathway potion formula, closed his eyes, and softly recited a divination statement.

He was only divining whether these potion formulas were real and effective. There should not be any serious danger. At worst, he simply would not leave the house today.

A few seconds later, a burst of deep blue light flashed across the Crystal Ball.

The divination was effective. All the potion formulas were real.

With the last trace of worry gone, he looked up at Cyril. "Do you need a divination? The Fate Crystal Ball is very simple to use. As long as you can perform the form of a divination, you can receive a response."

Cyril shook his head. "No need. I don't want to run into another group of Highlanders looking to rob us."

Owen scratched his head awkwardly again. "Actually, most of the time it's just tripping, losing some money, forgetting your keys, that sort of thing."

"I'll go get the ingredients. And I can watch a Beyonder be born while I'm at it."

A few minutes later, in the living room with its doors and windows shut and its curtains drawn, Cyril held a glass cup and carefully added the ingredients one portion at a time.

Water from an ancient well, pure Goat-beard Grass dew, flowers grown from corpses, soil contaminated by Spirit World creatures, and finally, the main ingredients: Gem-eating Insect and Illusion Crystal.

The instant all the ingredients entered the glass, they melted together strangely, as though some chemical reaction had been triggered.

As Cyril gently swirled the glass, the melted ingredients gradually blended into a black, viscous mass that looked like the most traditional herbal medicine—or perhaps poison.

"It looks a little hard to drink."

Cyril rubbed his stomach. Though he knew the potion would be absorbed by his body before it could reach his stomach, it truly looked like some dark cuisine. Just looking at it made his stomach feel ill.

Owen tried to comfort him. "It looks hard to drink, and it might actually be hard to drink, but once you drink it, you'll become a Beyonder. Even if it were sewer sludge, you'd have to grit your teeth and swallow it."

"You really aren't suited to comforting people."

After casually teasing him, Cyril brought the glass of potion to his lips and drained it in one gulp.

It was bitter and spicy, like biting into a mixture of crushed garlic, ginger, mustard, and lemon. The overwhelming flavor made him forget how to breathe.

The stimulation flooding his taste buds lasted less than two seconds. Once the black, viscous potion flowed down his throat, it vanished, completely absorbed by his body.

At the same time, his spirit suddenly began to rise. His field of vision broadened, as if he had escaped reality and entered a higher dimension.

In that state, he felt like a swimming fish returning to water. No—not a fish, but a dragon. A ruler returning to his own domain.

Before he could carefully experience that wondrous state, a majestic, overwhelming will filled with fury descended upon him.

"Thief!"

Cyril instinctively tilted his head upward and saw an unreachable shadow appearing at an infinite height. It looked down at him, watching him with fury and greed.

Yet it could only watch. An invisible, formless barrier stood between them, and neither could touch the other.

Seeing that the other party could only stare at him from the other side of the barrier, Cyril finally relaxed and carefully sensed the changes within himself.

What he had feared most was that the elevation of his life essence from consuming the potion would establish a deeper connection between himself and the High-Dimensional Overseer, allowing the latter to influence him from afar.

But now, it seemed their connection had indeed deepened, yet the barrier remained reliable. The High-Dimensional Overseer could see him but could not touch him—unless Cyril advanced several more times.

As the changes brought by the potion deepened, Cyril discovered in surprise that something ethereal yet tangible had transferred from the High-Dimensional Overseer to him.

Then, he found that he had gained a certain degree of control over the dimensions around him. He could see them and even touch them. Even his soul, which had always felt somewhat hollow, became fuller, as though a floating castle in the air had gained a supporting pillar, finally able to touch the ground and barely stabilize itself.

"Is this authority, or symbolism?"

"Vile usurper!"

"Thief who seeks to taint the dimensions, the barrier left behind by the Primordial cannot protect you for long..."

As the murmuring voice reached his ears, Cyril saw an eye open within that unreachable shadow at an infinite height.

The next instant, his spirit suddenly grew heavy and sank continuously, returning to his body.

Before he could adapt to his vastly increased spirituality, a familiar figure in white robes with golden hair silently entered his vision. He seemed to have just appeared, yet also seemed to have been here all along; Cyril's mind had simply been instinctively overlooking him.

"Adam..."

Cyril opened his mouth with a complicated expression, somewhat surprised, yet not entirely surprised.