Furen thought he must be lucky after all.
Because he had surpassed the vast majority of people, becoming an "extraordinary," now having capital beyond the human, yes, his most solid capital.
Furen also thought he was unlucky too.
Because he had taken the path of the "Apprentice," also known colloquially as one of the "three prudent families." Now, among them, the "Apprentice" was the weakest, not because the sequence was weak, but because its representatives were—the "Soothsayers" included Klein, Zarath, Antigonus, Fragra; the "Errors" had Amon, Pallez.
And the "Apprentices"... only "Mr. Door", Bethel Abraham, this man with the overwhelming aura before whom everyone kneels as soon as he appears.
But that was not why Furen considered himself unlucky.
The real reason was his name: Furen Abraham. Yes, barring the unforeseen, he could at best become an "Astrologer." Then he would either die of old age, be driven mad by Bethel's call, or end up turning to an evil god or an official god.
Fortunately, that morning, in the Trier Daily he had bought, was this news:
"Congratulations to our great governor, child of steam, His Excellency Roselle Gustav, on the eleventh anniversary of his government over the Republic of Intis."
This announcement made Furen jump for joy, who immediately glanced at the date printed at the top of the newspaper: July 5, 1183.
Furen was an avid reader of Lord of the Mysteries. What made the novel great was its vast world and a strikingly realistic occult story. Furen clearly remembered what this date meant to all the members of the Abraham family engaged in the path of the "Apprentice":
This was the moment when Bethel's "full moon call" was going to be connected.
Bethel, the ancestor of the Abraham family, their glory as much as their nightmare. It was because of her calls that the Abrahams lived in pain and insecurity. Roselle would soon have extensive discussions with Bethel during these "full moon calls."
The date was July 5, 1183, Roselle would make contact on November 18, 1183, and it would fall in 1198. But this period of conversations with Bethel would not actually last a full fifteen years. During this period, Bethel would continue to call, but her voice would probably grow fainter, for it was precisely during this time that the Abrahams progressed, and that Journey into the Spirit World was written.
The author was probably a "Clerk" or even a "Traveler." As for why he never became a demigod, it remains unclear.
This was evident when Fors became an "Arcanist": she almost lost control under the call of "Mr. Door." Fortunately, she had the benefit of her luck and Klein's supervision, which allowed her to escape by the skin of her teeth.
For true members of the Abraham family, the rise to demigod status was even more difficult. Fors, after all, was not a full-blood Abraham, only an "Apprentice" snatched up by accident.
Furen concluded that to become a demigod, or even an angel, or even further, it was absolutely necessary to reach this milestone within fifteen years. Even with the "role interpretation" method, such a speed of potion digestion was nothing short of miraculous. This meant that, during those fifteen years, Furen could not afford to stop. He had to relentlessly embark on adventures, accumulate experiences, and digest his potions.
And if he only wanted to survive, he would only have to become an "Astrologer" in fifteen years. That would be good enough. But sooner or later, age would come, his energy would decline, and he would lose control of himself. Then it would be an end without burial.
So Furen had no choice: either he reached the rank of demigod within fifteen years, or he would live his entire life in fear.
And even upon ascension to demigod, resisting Bethel's whispers without losing his identity would be a formidable task. Yet Furen had no choice but to seek a solution along the way.
The resources of House Abraham were sufficient to guarantee him progression to the rank of angel. As for Sequence 1, Furen thought he might consider Zarath's "Servant of Mystery" potion, even though he had fallen into madness. It was his only chance to become a great angel.
Back to the present:
you don't get fat from one bite.
Furen Abraham, single, childless, owned a house. His parents were dead, he had no sisters or brothers—the perfect archetype of a male protagonist in a story: unremarkable, but from a fallen lineage. A member of a rentier class, but the kind that would make the god of poverty weep.
He held a 2% stake in the Trier Commercial Bank, with an annual income of 3,000 pounds. He owned a house at 34 Corson Street, in the Kinhanston area of Trier, an upmarket neighborhood. He had 20,000 pounds at the bank, generating 800 pounds of interest a year, plus 1,342 pounds in cash. There was no need to try to figure out whether he was rich or poor: he was a member of high society, certainly, but at its lowest level. And yet, it was enough to make the god of poverty weep.
Since the "Apprentice" sequence was a magician-type path, the study of knowledge, and especially esotericism, was essential. Whether Western magicians or Chinese Taoist mages, all were reputed to possess knowledge inaccessible to mortals. And knowledge is power. Furen knew, therefore, that he needed knowledge.
Luckily, as a descendant of a family of fallen angels, he had inherited sufficient occult knowledge from his father. As for the other necessary knowledge, he could find it in the Trier library.
Even luckier, Trier had a library that was the pride of the northern continent: the National Library of Trier. It brought together knowledge from all walks of life and served as a sanctuary for researchers.
Furen told himself that he needed to acquire practical knowledge, useful for his future sequences. The Apprentice path, from rank 9 to rank 0, unfolded as follows: "Apprentice", "Master of Towers", "Astrologer", "Clerk", "Traveler", "Arcanist", "Wanderer", "Wandering Mage", "Star Key", "Gate".
From "Apprentice" to "Traveler," one remained human; from "Warlock" to "Wanderer," one became a demigod; from "Wandering Mage" to "Star Key," one was an angel. As for "Gate," it was the true god state.
As Fors progressed to "Warlock," the "Trickmaster," "Astrologer," and "Clerk" sequences all had their role rules, making for quick digestion. Furen therefore felt he would need some knowledge of magic, divination, travel writing, and geography to be able to play his roles well.
Regarding the digestion of the "Apprentice" potion, he also assumed that it might require practical and diligent learning.
If we observe Klein's journey through the digestion of his potions, we see a consistent internal logic: from respecting destiny to mastering it, the common thread remained concealment and growth. For the path of the Apprentice, Furen believed that the concepts of guide, key, and freedom were particularly essential.
The closest to the "Gate," Bethel Abraham, the ancestor who had led the family to ruin, bore this title: "Great Gate with myriad entrances, Guide to the infinite cosmos, Key to all mystic worlds."
The divine name itself contained the method of role and the domain of authority of this path.
And this was a universally known truth of the mystical world: knowledge is power.
(End of chapter)