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George could decipher the spoken language by analyzing the conversations stored in the infant's memory. However, written characters were a different matter. To master those, he needed to find elementary primers—books that used illustrations alongside text to allow for rapid acquisition. Only by learning the script of this world could he read various books and gather deeper knowledge and intelligence.
High above the city roofs, a six-month-old infant wearing open-crotch pants leaped through the air, dragging a burlap sack full of books behind him. If a commoner had witnessed this sight, their jaw would surely have hit the floor. Fortunately, with the sensory capabilities of George's physical body, he easily avoided detection, choosing a path where no one would spot him as he returned safely home.
By now, it was midnight. He sat on the roof of his house, using the moonlight to begin learning his first characters. The following morning, as the sun began to rise, he returned to his crib and resumed his disguise as a normal infant. For him, this required no effort at all... well, except for the lingering awkwardness of breastfeeding.
During the day, his mother, Clarice, would carry him around as she went about her business, giving him a true look at the city they lived in. Although he had gone out the previous night, it had been dark then, and the streets had been empty.
Retro machinery, gears, brass components, steam-powered devices, frock coats, top hats, pocket watches, and gentleman's canes—all accompanied by an abundance of relief carvings and ornate patterns. This was a city with a distinct steampunk aesthetic.
While appreciating the cityscape, he also began to contemplate the digestion of Beyonder potions.
When an ordinary person consumed a potion to advance to a Beyonder, it normally took several years—sometimes even over a decade—to adapt to and digest the potion until the body was fully stabilized. Only then could they safely consume the potion for the next sequence. To rush the process was to risk losing control and transforming into a horrific monster. Because of this, some Beyonders who lacked confidence would rather stay at their current level for their entire lives than risk advancing.
However, the Secret Order was one of the oldest organizations in existence, specializing in a single pathway. They possessed esoteric knowledge that many "wild" Beyonders were unaware of.
For instance, they knew that if one learned to "act" the role corresponding to their sequence—summarizing a set of rules for that role and strictly adhering to them—one could rapidly digest the potion and ensure a safe advancement.
The Magician murderer from the previous night was a prime example. After taking the Sequence 9 "Divination" potion, he acted as a fortune-teller, performing divinations for people everywhere to quickly digest the potion. Upon reaching Sequence 8 "Clown," he frequently wore a clown mask and established a set of rules a clown must follow.
According to the hints provided by the organization's higher-ups, now that he had become a Sequence 7 "Magician," he needed to proactively perform prepared shows and earn the applause of an audience.
For example, had the murderer managed to snatch the Antigonus family notebook right from under the noses of six Nighthawks, it would have constituted a magnificent "performance." The feat would have surely spread among the Nighthawks afterward and earned him great honor within the Secret Order. Such an act would have finished the digestion of the Magician potion, allowing him to attempt the advancement to Sequence 6, "Faceless."
Unfortunately, he had failed and was subsequently killed by George.
Therefore, if George wanted to quickly digest the Magician's Beyonder characteristic and advance, he would need to perform a similar feat. In truth, he felt that with his current constitution, he could probably just swallow the next potion and advance without any "acting" or digestion process at all; he was in no real danger of losing control.
However, he believed that if he truly wanted to understand this world's power system—and perhaps integrate it with his own power so he could switch between them at will—he shouldn't be so crude. He wanted to experience the steps and details of this world's progression as much as possible.
"It shouldn't be too difficult," he mused.
After a moment of thought, a plan began to form. If the Clown murderer could digest his potion by snatching a notebook from six Church Nighthawks to create a legendary performance, then George only needed to do something similar in front of powerful Beyonders to achieve the same result.
With his strength, never mind six Nighthawks—wiping out the entire Church presence in Tingen City would be as easy as splashing water. Digesting the potion was, in itself, not a challenge.
Of course, he wasn't actually going to destroy the Church; they hadn't crossed him. Moreover, the Church Nighthawks seemed like decent people, acting as the police of the supernatural world, dedicated to eliminating evil and maintaining safety. It was merely an analogy. He didn't need to worry much about the Magician potion; he would simply wait for an opportunity to perform, and the digestion would happen naturally.
That night, George once again knocked his parents unconscious and began browsing through the books regarding the history of this world. Using the primers from the night before, he had already mastered the basic script of the Loen Kingdom.
The deceased murderer, despite being a Beyonder, hadn't been a very learned man. Before joining the Secret Order, he had no formal education, and his energy had been entirely consumed by organizational missions and the acting method. Because of his background, he was well-versed in Beyonder-related knowledge, but his understanding of other subjects was lacking. Consequently, George had to look up the basic facts himself.
As the moon set and the sun rose, George put down the books, hid them away, and returned to his crib. By this time, he had gained a general understanding of the world's layout and history.
According to the records, history was divided into five Great Epochs:
The First Epoch: The Age of Chaos.
The Second Epoch: The Age of Darkness.
The Third Epoch: The Age of Cataclysm.
The Fourth Epoch: The Age of the Gods.
The Fifth Epoch: The Current Era, known as the Age of Iron.
It was said that before the Five Epochs, there was a Prehistoric Epoch, but that was considered mere legend with no substantive evidence. In fact, while there were many records regarding the Fifth Epoch, information on the first four was extremely scarce. Books detailing those times were not items one could find in an ordinary bookstore.
The current year was 1349 of the Fifth Epoch.
The world consisted of four continents: North, South, East, and West. The East and West continents existed only in legend; the books even suggested they might not exist at all. Thus, the world revolved around the North and South continents.
More accurately, it revolved around the North Continent. The nations of the South Continent had either been destroyed, were ruled by fractured warlords, or had become colonies of the Northern powers.
The most powerful nation in the North Continent was the Loen Kingdom, where George currently resided. Located on the easternmost edge of the continent, its people worshipped the Evernight Goddess and the Lord of Storms. The common language was Loenese.
Next was the Intis Republic, located in the center of the North Continent. They followed the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun and the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery. Their language was Intis.
Ranking third in overall strength was the Fenepotter Kingdom to the south, which worshipped the Earth Mother. Their language was Highlandish.
The fourth major power was the Feysac Empire in the far north. They worshipped the God of War, and its citizens were said to possess the lineage of Giants. They spoke Feysac.
Between Fenepotter and Loen lay several smaller nations in the mid-south, such as Segar, Luenburg, and Masin. These states had gained independence from Fenepotter after the "War of the Oath" and primarily worshipped the God of Knowledge and Wisdom. Among them, Luenburg was the most influential.
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