Chapter 313: The Gains of Sequence 5

A moment later, new information surged into Edward's mind:

[Sequence 5: Wandering Mentor]

Your body and soul have no home. Thus, you roam the world like a stranger. You were meant to be an unbound bard, bringing stories to every corner of the world—but instead, you chose to spread knowledge in place of tales.

Remember: spreading knowledge is not your end goal—

Leaving behind proof of your existence is.

Abilities:

-[Traveler's Door]—Allows you to traverse the spirit world, using external perception and self-positioning to determine your destination. Depending on the Sequence and strength of the user's spiritual body, the time and range of spirit world travel varies greatly.

-[Blink]—A short-distance spatial leap. You can instantly move to anywhere within your line of sight.

-[Invisible Hand]—Creates an invisible hand that can assist with anything your physical hands are capable of doing.

-[Converging Paths]—Any new knowledge or abilities you pass on to others will eventually return to you as feedback.

-[Hearth]—Instantly returns your spirit form to a preset coordinate, unimpeded by any obstacle.

[Sequence 4: Spiritcaster]

Formula Materials: Secrets Sorcerer potion + a Beyonder characteristic from an Undying.

Advancement Ritual: In a battle, your physical body must be destroyed while your spirit remains intact. Then, you must consume the potion.

That was all the knowledge Edward gained from his advancement to Sequence 5: Wandering Mentor.

Compared to the [Bookworm] ability from Sequence 6, the new abilities seemed…somewhat underwhelming. Apart from his spirituality doubling, there was no significant immediate boost in combat strength.

[Traveler's Door] now allowed him to freely traverse the spirit world, choosing his destinations at will. But aside from having a longer range than Apparition, it didn't seem especially useful.

[Blink] was solid—nearly instantaneous activation with no cast time or delay. In battle, it would definitely be more reliable than Apparition.

[Invisible Hand] felt like a budget version of telekinesis. It could enhance combat utility…but likely in a limited capacity.

[Converging Paths] wasn't something he could count on anytime soon. Sharing knowledge and watching it take root wasn't something that could happen overnight.

And finally, [Hearth]—just as he'd suspected—was essentially a last-resort escape tool.

Of course, with the rank-up to Sequence 5, the number of abilities he could record with [Record] had also increased. He could now store up to five demigod-level abilities. And once he further digested the potion, he would be able to store even more. His range of mid- and low-sequence abilities had also expanded, and their power had been fine-tuned to nearly match their original strength.

Beyond that, the second doubling of his spirituality meant his [Bookworm] ability could now sustain some Sequence 3-level powers.

After finishing his review of the Sequence 5 gains, Edward didn't forget to once again use [Delusion] to overdraft a Sequence 4 Spiritcaster ability:

[Rebuke]

When you are afflicted by corruption, you can nullify its harmful effects and return it—amplified—to the source. (This ability is subject to some weakening.)

Edward blinked in surprise.

Why does this feel like an upgraded version of [Dullness]?

If [Dullness] allowed him to be immune to corruption, [Rebuke] not only negated the effect but also reflected it—doubled—back at the source.

At first glance, it didn't seem like a direct combat ability.

But "corruption" was something that even ancient deities like the Ancient Sun God feared. It was everywhere in the Mysteries World—but using it as a deliberate offensive tool? That was almost exclusively the domain of Outer Gods, Evil Gods, and completely deranged monsters. Other forms of corruption were more often side effects—like being tainted by Beyonder characteristics.

Wait a second—

After demigods transform into Mythical Creatures, doesn't corruption become part of their attack methods, too?

That made things very interesting.

Next time I'm fighting a demigod-level enemy at full power, I could just use [Rebuke] to bounce their own pollution back and kill them with it.

After analysing his new abilities, Edward turned his attention to the advancement ritual for Sequence 4, Spiritcaster:

"In a battle, your physical body must be destroyed while your soul remains intact. Then, consume the potion."

The first half clearly illustrated the "spirit" nature of the Spiritcaster.

But did this mean that after becoming a Spiritcaster, he'd have to remain in a soul state permanently?

Or…could he switch between spirit and physical forms at will, like a Wraith?

But the ritual explicitly required physical destruction. Could he really restore his body after it was obliterated?

Also, once he became a disembodied spirit, how the hell was he supposed to drink the potion?

One question after another piled into his mind, leaving Edward momentarily lost in thought.

"Edward."

"Edward, Edward~!"

Just then, Lilith and Audrey's voices pulled him back to reality. Edward slowly opened his eyes and saw their worried faces leaning over him.

He quickly said, "Don't worry. The advancement went smoothly. I'm now officially Sequence 5—Wandering Mentor."

Audrey gently patted her chest in relief.

"Thank goodness…I thought you were going to lose control again like last time."

"Uh, no, no—nothing like that."

Truth be told, the revelations this time were even more mind-blowing than his last promotion. But perhaps because he'd already experienced it once before, his mental state this time remained stable. There were no signs of losing control.

Lilith gently leapt into his arms.

"Edward, why do your advancements always take so long?"

Audrey chimed in,n"Yeah, whenever I take a potion, the advancement finishes really fast."

"Maybe…it's because I receive more information than most people."

Edward smiled.

"I not only get all the data from the Traveler's Pathway, but also the details of the Wandering Mentor sequence, as well as the materials and ritual for the next Sequence. It takes time to process all that."

"Ah, that makes sense. You really are different from us!"

Audrey nodded in realisation.

"By the way, what's Sequence 4 called? What characteristic do you need for it?"

"Sequence 4 is called Spiritcaster," Edward replied. "It requires the Beyonder characteristic of an Undying."

"An Undying? And what's the ritual?"

Edward replied calmly, "You have to experience your physical body being destroyed in battle—while your soul remains intact. Then, you drink the potion."

Audrey's face paled.

"T-that's…that's just suicide, isn't it?!"

Edward froze for a second before realising—

Yeah, this did sound a lot like suicide.

In the original novel, there were 22 pathways, and among them was one with a similarly extreme advancement ritual:

To advance to Sequence 0: Tyrant, one had to challenge a true god alone and survive.

The point wasn't necessarily to win—but to experience the overwhelming atmosphere of fear and submission before drinking the potion to ascend.

In comparison, the Spiritcaster's ritual only specified that one's body be destroyed in battle. It didn't demand victory, survival, or even any specific enlightenment from the experience.

At first glance, it really did seem…suicidal.

Maybe the true focus was: "the soul must endure."

That would explain why the potion required the Beyonder characteristic of an Undying.

If that's the case, then maybe…maybe the Undying's trait could help regenerate the physical body after the ritual?

Edward looked at Audrey's anxious face and let out a quiet sigh.

I really don't want to become some drifting wraith for the rest of my life…

"Don't worry. I'm sure the ritual has its logic," he said softly. "I'll probably understand when the time comes."

"Mm~"

Audrey nodded. Then she asked, "So, how's the digestion progress on your two potions?"

Edward turned his focus inward—

As expected, the Traveler potion had been completely digested.

The Traveler's persona was one of journeying, of experiencing the world's diverse landscapes and people.

Honestly, there probably weren't many people on this planet with more "traveler" experience than Edward at this point.

What surprised him, though, was that Wandering Mentor had already digested nearly one-third.

Weird…The only thing I've really done is pass on some potion knowledge in the Harry Potter world…

No—wait!

Passing on knowledge was only one aspect. As someone who'd traversed two worlds, Edward had always essentially been a wanderer.

From the moment he arrived in the Mysteries World and even during his time in the Harry Potter world, he'd never really had a fixed home. He was always on the move.

He chuckled to himself.

Maybe if I keep drifting like this for a few more years, the potion will finish digesting on its own.

But of course, he didn't have the luxury of waiting that long.

"So, what's your plan for playing the role of a Wandering Mentor?" Audrey asked, a little worried. "Mentors pass on knowledge, right? Maybe you could teach at a school?"

"Hm. That might be worth trying."

The ability [Converging Paths] required him to spread new knowledge in order to receive feedback. But the persona of a Wandering Mentor didn't necessarily require that he teach new knowledge specifically.

Wait a second—

Those books and technologies I brought back from the Harry Potter world and handed over to the Goddess—

Did that count as "teaching"?

If so, then once God of Steam internalises them, wouldn't that count as having played the "Mentor" role fully?

If not…maybe I could still retrieve those materials and teach the God of Steam myself?

As for how to teach? Just read straight from the books, word for word. It's not like he can read English or Chinese anyway.

Hmm…definitely worth a try.

"But what about the wandering part?" Audrey asked.

Edward frowned slightly, thinking.

The Wandering Mentor's self-definition was:

One who was meant to spread stories like a bard, but instead chose to spread knowledge. Yet the true goal was never the knowledge itself—but to leave a mark on the world.

In other words, it wanted him to travel from place to place like a bard, sharing knowledge and leaving behind traces of his existence.

Basically, the Mystical World's version of Venti?

Audrey gasped in surprise.

"So that means…you'll be running around the whole world from now on?"

"You can come with me," Edward said with a smile. "We've got portkeys and teleportation spells—distance doesn't really matter. Worst case, I go out during the day to play my role and come back to rest at night."

Audrey shook her head, frowning.

"No, that's not really wandering, is it?"

…Fair point.

So I really do need to travel from place to place, with no fixed home, until the potion is completely digested?

Well…it would be a new kind of experience.

Just then, Susie—who had been silent until now—spoke up:

"It's fine. Edward's the one who needs to wander. He might not be able to come visit you all the time, but with the Vanishing Cabinet, you can go find him whenever you want."

Audrey gently rubbed her forehead.

"Ahh, that was stupid of me."

Susie said innocently, "That's not stupidity. That's just what love does to people…"

Audrey promptly pinched Susie's mouth shut.

"Susie, you've got a Mandrake leaf in your mouth. Maybe don't speak so freely, yeah? If it falls out or you swallow it, those last few days of effort will have been for nothing."

Lilith quickly chimed in, "Susie says she's used to talking with the leaf in her mouth now. It's fine!"

Audrey let go.

"Is that so, Susie?"

Susie blinked her innocent, watery eyes.

I'm just a dog. Please don't make things harder for me…

———

[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.