Adrian sat in a completely sealed, pitch-black chamber, holding a freshly prepared potion. The potion was dark, with swirling vortexes floating within, emitting strange whispers that lured one to listen. Closing his eyes, Adrian placed a small gem on the floor as a symbolic "medium" for the ritual.
"The Lord of Dimensions;
A sudden gust of wind erupted, manifesting abruptly in the chamber sealed by a Wall of Spirituality. A mystical connection formed between the material world and the starry sky. The High-Dimensional Overseer cast His gaze, preparing to bestow a characteristic upon His avatar. Ripples appeared on the Wall of Spirituality, making it seem on the verge of collapse.
The Eye Overlooking the Mortal Realm; The Source of All Illusions; The Creator of the Painting World
The Source of All Fantasies."
A faint characteristic materialized where the gem had been, imbued with the starry sky's unique void-like aura. After reciting His honorific name, Adrian hurriedly stepped forward, swallowing the characteristic without hesitation. Before his body could begin digesting it, he raised the Listener potion and drank it down.
A violent fluctuation emanated from the nearby Storm Cathedral. Adrian wrapped the Listener's characteristic around the Outer God characteristic fusing with his original Sequence 9 trait, exuding the aura of a True Creator devotee. Lightning brewed in the clouds, accompanied by booming thunder.
Far in the Astral World, Leodero, the Lord of Storms, caressed His scepter, sensing something amiss in His domain. Pondering, He detected a fleeting aura He loathed and feared near His cathedral. Without hesitation, He issued an oracle to His Church's leaders: "Seek the favored one bearing the True Creator's divinity."
...
Sensing the violent divinity fade, Adrian separated his characteristic from the Listener trait, merging it with his current body. Of the two pathways the High-Dimensional Overseer controlled, one was the "Dimension" pathway, symbolizing space and finality; the other was the "Overlook" pathway, tied to omniscience and creation.
To live better on Earth and uphold his dignity and instincts as an Outer God, Adrian, after careful consideration, chose the "Overlook" pathway. Though weaker in combat, it excelled in foresight, observation, and eerie abilities. The "Dimension" pathway was adjacent to the Door pathway, tainted by his neighbor, the Mother of Depravity, and the Door pathway's neighbor included *Amon*, the Blasphemer, a notorious low-sequence Beyonder killer.
—Though in the High-Dimensional Overlooker's mind, "low-sequence" meant anything below Sequence 3. He didn't fear Amon parasitizing His avatar, but an unexpected issue with Amon would alert Adam, likely triggering a divine siege. Adrian knew neither of the two true gods allied with Him would aid Him given His identity.
The "Overlook" pathway began at Sequence 9, Scholar, distinct from the similar-sounding Mystery Pryer or Reader. Under the High-Dimensional Overseer's influence, this Sequence 9, shaped by His source essence, had become Star Scholar.
Due to the High-Dimensional Overlooker's presence, Beyonders choosing this characteristic often died upon consuming the potion and absorbing its knowledge. When Adrian became source essence, the potion's knowledge was rewritten: it enhanced learning capacity limits without directly boosting ability, providing knowledge—mostly dangerous, unusable starry sky lore, like Outer Gods' honorific names or source essence descriptions.
After close inspection, the High-Dimensional Overseer realized the Sequence 9 Scholar had been corrupted into a death trap. Guiltily, He scratched His head and shifted His gaze elsewhere on Earth.
However, upon advancing to Sequence 8, the "Overlook" pathway's Scholar transformed, like Seer* to *Clown, into a seemingly unrelated role: Ranger.
The Ranger's characteristic greatly enhanced physical attributes, especially speed, surpassing other Sequence 8 Beyonders, though other boosts were less pronounced. After consuming the Ranger potion, knowledge learned as a Scholar became combat techniques, embedded in the Beyonder's subconscious by the characteristic, granting rudimentary fighting ability. Thus, a Scholar's digestion level and knowledge type determined each Ranger's combat prowess.
Adrian cloaked the Ranger characteristic with the Listener trait to mask his identity before potential high-sequence Beyonders—after all, in Backlund, one could bump into Amon or Adam on the street. Emerging from the chamber with a relaxed expression, he listened closely to the True Creator's now-clearer ravings, discerning that the True Creator was singing a hometown lullaby in a dream—no wonder the Aurora Order members outside were so serene… ahem, quiet.
"Hey, dear True Creator?" The High-Dimensional Overlooker poked the True Creator's inverted head. The True Creator turned expressionlessly to face Him. The High-Dimensional Overseer adjusted His avatar, attaching the Hidden Sage's increasingly dazed eyes to it, and said, "Change the tune? I've got a literary salon in Backlund to attend. Sure, a 'painter' there is odd, but it's part of the plan. Tell your believers to stop napping, how about it?"
"You… heard that?" The True Creator's face twisted, like a youth caught with his browsing history exposed, as the High-Dimensional Overlooker grinned. Reflecting on how long He'd listened, Adrian nodded earnestly. "Yeah, I heard it after becoming a Listener. You sing pretty well—not surprising, with Bard in the Sun pathway. Want to hear me sing? It's been ages…"
"Cyks blyat."
Mr. A felt a sudden headache as the familiar, maddening ravings returned, replacing the soothing lullaby, with faint double vision. The ravings reminded him of the True Creator's burden of madness and suffering, renewing his awe of His greatness.
Seeing Adrian emerge from the chamber with a smile, Mr. A hurriedly said, "Lord Favored One, your advancement is complete?"
"Thanks to the Lord, I'm fortunate," Adrian said, tracing an upright cross on his chest, smiling at Mr. A. Pausing briefly, he continued, "Prepare a carriage; I'm heading home. Mr. A, I'm attending a literary salon in a few days. Want to join me?"
"…Literary salon?" Mr. A nearly refused but reconsidered, sensing deep intent in the favored one's words, and asked cautiously, "What are your plans?"
Good, at least he's not killing on impulse like before… Looks like curing the True Creator also fixed the Aurora Order's big issues, Adrian thought, chuckling inwardly. On the surface, he explained, "It's for the Aurora Order's future. Our preaching targets the lower classes, and even the middle class has deep 'misunderstandings' about us—bad for our growth."
Adrian emphasized "misunderstandings," but Mr. A seemed not to notice, listening intently—a hallmark of Listener Beyonders, whose attentive demeanor subconsciously pleased speakers.
"If we only preach to the lower classes, a disaster or small war could easily cost the Lord many followers. That's why we need to spread our teachings to the upper, or at least middle, classes. The literary salon is a perfect entry point."
"I understand," Mr. A said righteously. "I'll fulfill the Lord's task. I excel in literature—no one in the Aurora Order sings the Lord's hymns better. I'll use my Beyonder abilities to convert everyone at the salon into the Lord's lambs…"
…The True Creator's followers still have some issues to work out.
Adrian took a deep breath, rubbing his forehead. "Go borrow How to Win Friends and 48 Laws of Power from Mr. Z. If you're not up to par by tomorrow, you're not coming."
"!"
"And remember, until the first phase of our 'plan' is complete, never mention your faith outside! If asked, say you worship the Sun God! The Lord was once called the Ancient Sun God! No one will catch the difference; they'll just think you follow the *Eternal Blazing Sun!"
"Also, you must bear the burden for the Lord, understand? Never reveal your identity!"
(End of Chapter)
Translator's Note: Cyks blyat is Disrespectful, hateful, obscene according to amazon, it's a swear used by russians similar to F word we use.