Christian looked at the dark potion and gave a final reminder, "You have one last chance to change your mind. Once you drink this, you will become a Beyonder, and your life as an ordinary person will be over."
Hobert picked up the beaker, saying, "While I still have the courage to move forward."
He drank the potion in one gulp. As soon as the dark potion entered his stomach, Hobert began to tremble involuntarily. For a moment, the world before his eyes seemed to distort.
Simultaneously, fragmented whispers echoed in his ears, though they were so vague he couldn't make out the words.
Quickly, he gained an understanding: In previous eras, only Solomon had successfully advanced to become the Black Emperor but had fallen in the War of the Four Emperors. Later, Roselle became the new Black Emperor, completely losing the chance of rebirth for Solomon. Thus, Solomon had almost no influence over lower-sequence Beyonders of the same pathway, and Roselle's current state was poor. Hobert couldn't remember the specifics, but knowing the emperor's state would bring contamination. Therefore, the emperor couldn't affect lower-sequence Beyonders either.
Because there were no existing true gods or high-sequence Beyonders in the "Lawyer Pathway," Beyonders of this pathway wouldn't hear distinct whispers during their ascension.
Then Hobert noticed a wooden plank on the bookshelf with two small cracks and a small dent on the cover of a book.
Based on these observations, Hobert deduced that the bookshelf would start to deteriorate from that wooden plank and the book from that small dent.
These were the flaws of the bookshelf and book!
But the strange vision soon vanished, and the involuntary trembling stopped.
Seeing that Hobert had stabilized, Christian poured two glasses of the white wine they had used earlier, one for each of them. "Although mastering the Sequence 9 potion is not very difficult, congratulations."
"Thank you." Hobert accepted the glass, clinking it with Christian's, and they each drank it down.
Christian put away the potion formula, and they returned to the desk.
Christine began explaining the primary abilities of a "Lawyer": "I heard from your father that a lawyer can find the weaknesses of objects or opponents from the information seen or heard.
"But be cautious during combat, because most enemies are aware of their weaknesses and likely have ways to protect them.
"Additionally, your eloquence will improve, allowing you to twist some simple ideas of others, but it's best to use this when your opponent is off guard."
He spread his hands, "That's all I know. You'll need to explore other abilities and precautions yourself."
Next, Christian taught Hobert how to activate and deactivate spiritual vision. However, a "Lawyer's" spiritual vision couldn't see a person's "Aether Body" or "Spiritual Body," only the visible flaws in the surroundings or people.
But when Hobert used his spiritual vision on Christian, he couldn't find any weaknesses.
Christian smiled, "Remember, when you can't see any flaws in a person, it often means they are currently unbeatable for you."
Hobert was taken aback by his straightforward boasting.
He then realized Christian was likely a mid-sequence powerhouse.
Christian also talked about the "acting method" and other occult knowledge. Finally, he said, "I'll arrange for you to start as an assistant at a law firm on Thursday or the day after. Hopefully, you'll find the essence of being a lawyer there."
At the end of their conversation, Hobert had the chance to ask, "Who cursed my family, or rather, the Heller family?"
Hobert's biological father was named Rex Heller, but after Christian adopted Hobert, he took his adoptive father's surname.
Christian seemed to recall something, taking over half a minute before saying, "I promised Rex that I'd only tell you the whole truth once you've fully mastered the Sequence 8 potion—well, all the truth I know.
"At that time, you'll face another decision. Until then, the less you know, the better."
Hobert nodded, "Alright."
Since Christian wouldn't say more, he planned to investigate his biological father's information after familiarizing himself with the lawyer's abilities.
Ending the conversation, Hobert noticed Christian lost in thought behind the desk as he closed the study door.
After leaving the study, Hobert pondered how Christian knew he was showing signs of losing control.
Christian had been away on a business trip for over half a month. Before he left, Hobert's madness hadn't been severe enough to be noticeable.
Someone must have discovered Hobart's abnormality after Christian left and informed him.
Hobert quickly thought of two possibilities: his adoptive mother, Melisa, or the butler, Valk.
However, Hobert's speculations ended there. Further guessing seemed pointless, and there was no need to verify it. He was content knowing.
By dinner, Christian had returned to his usual self, laughing and joking with the family, occasionally bantering with his daughter.
The family atmosphere was quite pleasant, though Hobert felt somewhat detached and rarely spoke at the table.
After dinner, Hobert read for a while but soon found himself too sleepy to keep his eyes open.
He hadn't slept well the previous night, and today's events—the Tarot meeting and consuming the potion—left him mentally and physically exhausted.
Unknowingly, Hobert entered the "Nation of Disorder" again in his dream.
Unlike before, when he always appeared by the ancient village at the mountain's foot, this time, he found himself at the mountain's peak.
There was a chair seemingly made of stone or jade, standing amidst the grass, with moss growing on it. It appeared to be part of the mountain.
In front of the chair was a large pool of pitch-black water, yet the lakebed rocks were visible.
In the dark water, countless white star-like light clusters drifted slowly like jellyfish, appearing almost alive.
Hobert thoughtfully sat on the stone chair. In that instant, he felt a special connection with the "Nation of Disorder."
He then saw the blurry figure that had been chasing and screaming at him approaching. The figure seemed clearer, revealing itself as a man.
Hobert waved his hand towards the black pool, and the blurry figure was thrust into it, struggling but unable to escape.
Hobert immediately understood: now that he was a Beyonder, he had some control over the "Nation of Disorder."
(End of the chapter)
50 Power stones = Extra Chapter
Without a doubt, the stone chair was a throne. As soon as Hobert sat on it, a part of the "Nation of Disorder" would submit to him.
Hobert watched the figure struggling in the pool, thinking to himself, "Unless I allow it, you'll never get out of there in this lifetime."
Sitting on the stone throne, he pondered for a while and had some ideas about the origin of the shadow: it might be the embodiment of the curse in the Heller family bloodline!
The evidence was that every time he heard the shadow's screams, he would fall into endless madness.
Before this, the "Nation of Disorder" had been providing some protection for him, so he didn't always hear the shadow's screams.
However, because he hadn't had such a special connection with the "Nation of Disorder" before, its protection was limited.
With this thought, Hobert breathed a sigh of relief. If his guess was correct, then once he left the "Nation of Disorder" this time, he wouldn't feel the painful madness. If he could keep the shadow trapped in the pool, the curse on him might even disappear.
"Now that makes sense!" Hobert muttered to himself. "Even if the 'Nation of Disorder' can't be like the 'Sefirah Castle' and create a 'network sales platform,' suppressing my family's curse is still worthy."
He wanted to leave the "Nation of Disorder" immediately to verify his guess, but since he was here, he decided to explore first.
Starting with the stone throne, Hobert felt the closest connection to it, but it seemed his control range was only near the throne, extending to the pool at most, but no further.
Hobert looked up at the clock tower hanging in the sky. He could sense it, or rather the giant clock inside, was as special as the throne.
But he couldn't reach the sky to ascend the clock tower. Hobert guessed that he might have to advance to a "mid-sequence" to control the clock tower.
Then Hobert thought that the stone throne was too ordinary, lacking any majesty. He tried to change its shape and, as he guessed, he could alter its appearance based on his imagination.
For instance, after a moment's thought, the stone throne turned into a round-backed chair.
Hobert pondered whether to turn it into the dragon throne from ancient costume dramas.
However, the dragon throne style didn't fit the world he was in. He needed a Western fantasy-style chair.
So he thought of the Iron Throne (the throne from "A Song of Ice and Fire," symbolizing the king's supreme authority).
With a thought, the throne beneath him transformed into a towering chair forged from swords, with steps made of blades leading up to it, making Hobart look like he was sitting in a bramble of swords.
Hobert nodded in satisfaction; now it looked like a throne.
Next, he turned his attention to the pool in front of him, where two star-like light clusters emitted a white glow. Hobart tried to approach them, and they indeed floated toward the throne.
The rest of the stars, however, remained variously sized white light clusters, completely out of Hobert's control.
Hobert estimated that he might need to advance to control more stars.
He decided to inspect the stars he could control first. He chose one and focused his mental power on it.
Immediately, he saw a middle-aged man on a bed. (TL/N: We all know what's happening there and if you don't know please stop reading this you are too young)
Hobert had the urge to cover his face and quickly withdrew his attention, not expecting his first use of the "Nation of Disorder" power to witness such an intense scene.
Relying on his instincts, Hobert found he couldn't pull a person's "astral body" into the "Nation of Disorder" like in the Tarot Club, but he could communicate with the person.
However, Hobert had no intention of talking to the busy middle-aged man. Even a cough might give the couple (possibly married) a psychological shadow. It's not right to be so inconsiderate.
After some thought, Hobert focused on another star emitting white light.
He then saw a young man hiding in the bushes of a dark forest. A middle-aged man with brown skin cautiously approached, and when the time was right, the young man leaped out, stabbing the middle-aged man in the back.
The brown-skinned man let out a disturbing roar, his eyes flashing with madness, looking fierce.
But the young man seemed unaffected, his attacks relentless.
Hobert judged this to be a "low-sequence" Beyonder fight because their strength far surpassed ordinary people, and the surrounding trees were pushed over by their battle.
Soon, the middle-aged man's injuries began to affect his combat ability, showing signs of losing control.
The young man seized the opportunity to inflict many new wounds on the middle-aged man, finally slitting his throat. The man completely lost control, but before he could turn into a monster, the young man skillfully beheaded him.
After watching the thrilling scene, Hobert realized that talking to the young man now might scare him, so he decided to communicate later.
Soon, the middle-aged man's Beyonder trait was diluted out, forming a gray light cluster resembling a miniature brain, even showing folds.
Hobert vaguely remembered the appearance of this Beyonder trait but couldn't recall which pathway it belonged to.
Watching the young man retrieve the spoils, Hobert began summarizing: using the two stars emitting white light, he could project "real vision" from the "Nation of Disorder" to the outside world.
However, he couldn't pull people into the "Nation of Disorder," showing a significant difference in function from the "Sefirah Castle."
As for why these two stars became his coordinates, Hobert wasn't sure and needed more observation.
After these attempts, Hobert was already exhausted. He left the "Nation of Disorder" and woke up from his dream.
As he expected, there was no feeling of madness.
However, Hobert didn't believe the family curse had disappeared. Even in the "Nation of Disorder," he could only trap the blurry figure, not completely eliminate it, which merely suppressed the curse.
Hobert stopped thinking and, being too tired, turned over and fell into a deep sleep.
Thanks to [Ignorant Illiterate] for the 300-point reward and the constant monthly votes for the author, along with the support from the first book onwards. Thanks to [Yu Zhe] for the 200-point reward.
(End of Chapter)
50 Power stones = Extra Chapter
Comentario de párrafo
¡La función de comentarios de párrafo ya está en la Web! Mueva el mouse sobre cualquier párrafo y haga clic en el icono para agregar su comentario.
Además, siempre puedes desactivarlo en Ajustes.
ENTIENDO