Chapter 13: New Member, Mr. Hermit

In a previous research project, Odis had made an unexpected discovery...

The Recording ability of the 'Scribe', the 'Polymath'sʼ Imitation ability, and the 'Scrolls Professor'sʼ Scroll Making ability, were in essence, all advanced applications of Mystical Knowledge and symbols under the influence of Extraordinary powers! {T/N: 'Polymath' is Sequence 6 of the 'Reader' Pathway...}

Thus, he began systematically studying these three Sequence 6 abilities...

Today, it was time to focus on the 'Scribe'...

The first step was gathering research materials. The glowing orbs that composed the tower were, in fact, archives of Knowledge. By placing his hand on the central orb in the room, he could mentally search for information.

However, Odis currently had limited access...

For instance, when he had previously searched for Potion formulas, he only obtained the Sequence 9 formulas for 'Mystery Pryer' and 'Savant'.

He could sense that much of the Knowledge remained locked due to his insufficient authorization level...

Still, the available information was enough for most of his research.

After some time, Odis found descriptions of the 'Scribe'sʼ ability, which generally stated:

<...The caster's eyes reflect an illusory, slowly flipping book. The mutated 'brain' reconstructs the target's Beyonder ability, then directs activated cells to form corresponding symbols, patterns, and markings to complete the storage...>

This embodied the principle of "I come, I see, I record" using the Spirit as the pen and the Soul as the paper...

Staring at these materials, Odis fell into deep thought...

"What is the underlying principle of storing Beyonder abilities through symbols, patterns, and markings? Is it merely a 'black box' operation enabled by Beyonder characteristics?.."

"...Since symbols, patterns, and markings are involved, could corresponding Mystical materials and arrays replicate this ability?"

About two years ago, Odis had considered such research impractical. Spending vast resources to create a low-tier array that mimics high-level abilities...

Was it truly worth it?

Take the Octagram Array he had built in his basement:

- Its teleportation range couldn't exceed 50 kilometers...

- It could only establish fixed channels...

- After each use, it required a one-hour cooldown...

- The initial construction cost was around 4 000 pounds, with annual maintenance fees of 300 pounds...

By comparison, a Sealed Artifact with Traveling capabilities would cost approximately 12 000 pounds (with price inflation due to rarity)... {T/N: 'Traveling' is a Sequence 5 'Traveler'sʼ teleportation ability... And yes, it's part of the 'Apprentice' Pathway...}

Even at 12 000 pounds, the array's initial cost was already one-third of that, yet its performance paled in comparison...

A Traveling capable Artifact could go anywhere, while the array was severely limited.

By pure efficiency metrics, such low-tier arrays seemed unviable.

Yet, Odis had persisted in researching arrays and Mystical symbols. For others, this would entail massive losses... but not for him.

His research process was completed entirely within the 'Knowledge Moor'... And arrays constructed in the real world after this process had a near-100% success rate, eliminating costly trial-and-error.

Moreover, while these arrays were weak, their side effects were easily mitigated...

All Mystical materials carried inherent risks, but the arrays bore most of the backlash. His 'Teleportation Array', for example, imposed no noticeable side effects as long as the one-hour cooldown was observed.

This was also why maintenance was expensive... The array's gemstones and Spirit-infused symbols would degrade after approximately 50 uses, at which point it required replenishment.

For Odis personally, this research direction held promise, though many hurdles still remained.

It was currently viable only for small-scale applications, not mass adoption...

...

Odis spent the first twelve hours gathering and reviewing materials (with breaks every five hours)...

While sleep wasn't necessary here, rest was essential to maintain productivity.

Next came theoretical modeling, again relying on the central orb, which Odis had dubbed the "Core Simulator"...

It could:

- Simulate all Pathway abilities up to Sequence 5...

- Recreate attacks from enemies to test his designs...

- Mirror real-world conditions with near-perfect accuracy...

Upon Odis's command, a phantom figure materialized, repeatedly demonstrating the Recording ability.

Through observation, he identified the ability's workflow:

- The Scribe's mutated brain analyzes the target ability...

- Using preloaded symbols, patterns, and markings, it Records the ability onto the caster's Spiritual Body.

The analysis step was enabled by the Potion taken by the Beyonder during ascension, which in essence is like a built-in 'black box'...

Likewise, the required symbols were imprinted by the Beyonder characteristics, requiring no study.

Odis's key question was... "Could someone with knowledge of these symbols (but not of the 'Apprentice' Pathway) replicate this analysis?"

Even without Beyonder characteristics, achieving analysis alone would be a breakthrough, much like cracking an encryption to simulate any ability.

After two weeks of research, Odis made progress:

- The symbols' arrangement followed discernible patterns, suggesting decryption was possible...

- However, fully reverse-engineering abilities would be a long-term endeavor...

This finding satisfied the 'Knowledge Moor', which then allowed him to exit the dream. The rest could wait until next Sunday.

Odis avoided overstaying to prevent reality-dream confusion. Upon waking, he performed 'meditation' to reanchor himself in the real world...

...

A glance at his pocket watch showed 3 AM. Indicating it was time for more sleep...

At 8 AM, Odis treated himself to red bean toast, one of his few culinary favorites in this world, to celebrate last night's breakthrough.

Carrying the toast, he arrived at his shop. As he unlocked the door, his Spirituality tingled again... someone was watching him...

But with no sense of danger, he remained unworried. The Church of Steam and Machinery's backing deterred most attackers. If threats arose, he could always seek their aid.

For Odis, Mondays were for reviewing his subordinates' accounts, and auditing the herbal shop's inventory and earnings.

The entire morning vanished into ledgers. By 2:30 PM, Odis instructed his assistant Kain (a teen) not to disturb him because he needed rest.

In the backroom, he watched his pocket watch's second hand tick toward 3:00 PM...

A flicker of excitement arose... It was time for his first Tarot Club meeting.

And precisely on time, gray fog engulfed his vision. When it cleared, he stood in a grand hall beside a bronze table.

'Justice' (Audrey Hall) rose and curtsied, "Good afternoon, Mr. Fool!"

Her greeting faltered as she noticed the newcomer.

From the head of the table, 'The Fool' (Klein) intoned:

"This is our new member, 'Mr. Hermit'..."

...

{T/N: It's been quite a while since I've binge read some of my favorite fics... So to open up some time for myself, I've decided to take this week off and get to it... That is, I'm taking a break from TRANSLATING this week (except for the Marvel Sentinel fic)...}