It took Shen a while, but he learned the basics of mechanical engineering within a few days. Being a Beyonder certainly helped him a lot.
His enhanced memory made retaining what he read much easier, while Proficiency helped him get used to applying what he learned through practice.
Still, learning something and teaching it were two completely different matters.
Devan had already paid him, and Shen wasn't going to give him some half-assed lesson after accepting that much money.
So aside from his usual work at the library, Shen had to spend his evenings planning what he would teach and figuring out how to explain it in a way Devan could actually understand.
In total, it took ten study sessions, each lasting around three hours.
By the time the final session ended, Shen felt as if a great burden had finally been lifted from his shoulders.
"Thank you, Godfather! Really, thank you! You saved me again!" Devan thanked him profusely, looking far too energetic for someone who had just spent three hours studying.
Shen merely waved him away. "Yes, yes. You're welcome. Now go before I suddenly start beating you out of anger."
Devan laughed, gathered his things, and finally left.
Shen watched him disappear from sight before letting out a long sigh.
Finally, I'm free from this bastard.
Goddess knew how exhausting the whole thing had been. To teach Devan properly, Shen had stayed up late several nights preparing lessons and figuring out what Devan understood, what he didn't, and how to explain the parts he kept getting stuck on.
This guy is lucky I'm a Beyonder, and one whose abilities happen to help with this kind of thing.
Shen sighed again.
Seriously, just because I helped him with a few foreign languages, how did he reach the conclusion that I could tutor him in anything?
Though Shen had to admit that teaching Devan had benefited him as well. He now understood the basics of mechanical engineering far better than before.
Of course, he wasn't going to brag about it. If he compared himself with an actual mechanical engineer, the gap between them would be like comparing heaven and earth.
…..
Just like that, another week passed after their final session. Now that Shen had finally gotten rid of that hateful idiot, he had some free time again and could finish the last bit of history he had left to study.
Unfortunately, it seemed he had celebrated too early.
"I spoke too soon," Shen muttered gloomily.
Because Devan was back again.
And this time, he was carrying a stack of five books.
The moment Shen saw him walking in his direction, he stood up and hurriedly tried to leave.
But it was too late.
"Godfather!"
Devan's excited voice came from behind him.
Nope. Ignore him. Just keep walking.
Shen quickened his steps.
Devan hurried around and appeared directly in front of him. "Godfather, can you help me study cryptology? Please? Please?!"
The man began hovering around him like a mosquito, pestering him from one side to another.
Shen closed his eyes for a moment.
In the end, he resigned himself to his fate and sighed. "Fine, but before that, I want to ask you something, Devan. What exactly are you studying?"
Devan suddenly looked a little embarrassed. "Well... a few things, actually. So the thing is, my family and I are followers of the God of Steam and Machinery."
As he spoke, he made the triangular holy emblem on his chest. "My parents want me to become a great mechanical engineer, but I don't want to become a mechanical engineer; I want to become an archaeologist. That's why I'm also studying cryptology. I thought it would be useful for archaeology."
Shen stared at him in speechlessness.
How does archaeology have anything to do with cryptology? Those are completely different fields.
He screamed inwardly, but outside remained still with a calm expression.
"And because of that, I don't really have a proper teacher. I can ask about where to start or how I should study it," Devan continued, sounding somewhat depressed. Then his expression brightened again. "That's when I remembered you, Godfather! You're truly a master of many talents, so I came to you for help as soon as possible."
Shen's lips twitched.
So because you don't have anyone qualified to teach you, your solution was to come to someone who never claimed to know cryptology either? What is wrong with this guy's head? I feel like he really is an idiot.
This time, however, Shen really didn't want to deal with him. The previous week had exhausted him enough already.
"Sorry, but I can't teach you this. I don't know cryptology."
Devan looked shocked, as though Shen had just said something impossible.
Then his expression immediately changed.
"Please! Godfather I'll give you twenty pounds for each session. I'm sure you can teach me! You previously said you didn't know mechanics either, but you still learned it and tutored me. That is why you are the only one who can learn one night and teach the other day. Just tell me when we start!"
Before Shen could even process what he'd said, Devan shoved twenty pounds and the stack of five books into his hands.
Then he hurriedly ran away.
Shen stood there frozen, holding the money in one hand and the books in the other.
He wasn't sure whether he should laugh or cry.
Did this bastard really think that giving me more money would sway me? Does he think I'll accept whatever ridiculous demand he makes just because he throws money at me?
Shen looked down at the twenty pounds.
Well, he's wrong.
He remained silent for another few seconds.
Then his expression changed into a crazy grin.
Because with this much money, I'll definitely teach him extremely well. I mean, who would refuse this much money? Hehehehe…hehehe.
Just from the previous ten sessions, Shen had already earned about one hundred and fifty pounds, far more than he was making from his boring library job.
And looking at it another way, he was able to make a lot of money at just sequence 9 so peacefully when compared to our resident God of Poverty, who could only make this much by courting death at a lower sequence.
And on top of that, maybe learning cryptology might actually be useful to him in the future.
That evening, Shen started studying cryptology seriously.
It was considerably more troublesome than mathematics.
Cryptology required a deep understanding of languages, excellent observation, logical and analytical thinking, and familiarity with many different methods of encryption and decryption.
Recognizing patterns was one thing, but learning how to approach unfamiliar secret codes and which language to use to decrypt the secret codes required experience. It wasn't something a person could master simply by reading a few books.
And on top of that, when deciphering something or some secret codes, you can't just make wild guesses randomly. You need sufficient evidence and knowledge to be able to decrypt things.
Fortunately, Shen was good at reading and retaining information, and his abilities made becoming proficient through repeated practice easier, whether it is mentally or physically.
Even so, he took the subject seriously.
After all, he had his principles. If someone paid him this much money, Shen refused to give that person some half-assed teaching in return.
And just like that, five days passed.
During those days, Shen read through the books while practicing observation, solving puzzles, and training his logical reasoning.
He even recalled some of the detective novels he'd read in his previous life and used them to practice approaching the same problem from different directions, working backward from conclusions and examining what other clues or scenarios could reasonably lead to them to the same result.
Eventually, he finished the fourth book.
Shen stretched his stiff shoulders and reached for the fifth book. He was just about to open it when his eyes happened to fall upon the author's name.
His hand froze in place, and every hair on his body stood on end.
Shen hurriedly threw the book away as if it had suddenly grown teeth.
He immediately looked around his bedroom, his heart pounding violently, then rushed toward the mirror and stared at his reflection.
He checked his face, his eyes frantically.
Especially his right eye.
Searching for a monocle.
Shen touched the area around his right eye anyway.
nothing.
He checked again and again for any sign of a monocle.
Yes, a monocle.
Because the author's name printed on that book was one that anyone who had read enough of Lord of the Mysteries would recognize.
Amon.
Shen's scalp went numb.
Amon, He is The Angel of Time, The God of Deceit and Trickery.
And one of the most terrifying existences in the first book of Lord of Mysteries.
For the next half hour, Shen searched his entire room like a headless chicken. Then his paranoia expanded to the rest of the house.
He checked corners, windows, objects that looked even slightly suspicious, and anything that could possibly be related to a monocle.
Only after finding absolutely nothing did Shen finally release a huge sigh of relief.
He returned to his room and meditated for ten minutes before his restless heart finally calmed down.
Once he felt reasonably certain that touching the book wasn't going to result in a monocle appearing over his eye, Shen carefully picked up the book again.
He slowly opened it with a shaky breath and started to read.
This time, he read much more cautiously.
After several minutes, Shen gradually calmed down completely and began piecing things together.
Maybe this book really was written by Amon...
Then he remembered something he'd forgotten.
The Sequence 7 of the Marauder Pathway is called Cryptologist.
And Amon was certainly among the greatest cryptologists alive in this world.
Judging from what Shen had read so far, the book itself was genuinely excellent. It contained puzzles involving several languages, layered codes hidden inside other codes, countless misleading patterns, and information that could easily turn into meaningless gibberish if the reader failed to observe carefully and overlook the patterns that are hidden yet obvious.
After roughly an hour and a half, Shen finally cracked one of the more complicated puzzles.
He leaned back and stared at the result, as to what secret was hidden within the puzzle.
Still, in his opinion, a Sequence 7 Cryptologist might have been able to solve something like this in ten minutes or less.
But he needed considerably more time to solve this one puzzle.
However, what interested him more was the answer that the puzzle revealed in this secret code.
It looked like it would lead to some kind of tomb. And apparently, that tomb contained an extremely rare treasure.
Shen stared at the words for several seconds.
Yeah, right. A rare treasure.
His expression became utterly flat.
Yep, that's definitely a trap.
A trap for Beyonders of the Marauder Pathway to become part of the happy Amon family wearing monocles or, to put it more accurately, to become one of Amon's Avatars.
I wouldn't even be surprised if that rare treasure in that tomb is a monocle.
The tomb's location and the method of entering it were hidden behind several more layers of encrypted information. Out of curiosity, Shen spent another hour solving them until he finally obtained a location.
It was near Morse Town, far away from where he lived in Leon.
Shen stared at the result for a while before writing a very simple encrypted note beside it.
Do not go there if you value your life.
Still, he couldn't deny the value of the book.
Reading this really is improving my knowledge in cryptology. As expected of one of the greatest Cryptologists second only to the Celestial Worthy. Every puzzle forces me to approach the problem differently.
Dangerous author or not, the book was extremely useful.
Two days later, Shen began his first cryptology lesson with Devan.
It wasn't easy.
Most of the time, Devan was scratching his head in frustration while staring at codes that seemed to make less sense the longer he looked at them. Still, for all his foolishness and idiocy, Devan was surprisingly diligent.
After eight sessions, he had learned a decent amount, though he still had a long way to go.
From the perspective of an ordinary person, however, Shen had to admit something he hadn't expected. Devan was actually quite talented.
A week later, a young woman with a ponytail hair and glasses approached Shen while he was organizing a pile of returned books.
"Hello, Mr. Akivil. I'm Beatrice Campbell," she introduced herself softly.
Shen looked up from the books, slightly confused by her sudden approach. For some reason, he immediately had a bad feeling.
"Ah... hello, Miss Campbell. A pleasure to meet you. Do you need something from me?"
"I'm a student studying law, and I'm currently preparing for a mock judicial proceeding."
Shen nodded slowly, still unsure why she had come to him.
Then she said the words that immediately explained everything.
"Devan Whitlock recommended you," Beatrice explained with a smile. "He said you're very good at explaining difficult subjects, no matter what kind of subject it is."
Shen became stiff as a board.
His eye twitched.
Devan. What did that bastard tell her?
Beatrice continued before he could ask. "I mainly need help organizing my arguments and improving my writing. He said that with enough payment, you would be willing to help me. I can pay you, of course."
Shen had already opened his mouth to refuse.
Then he heard how she was willing to pay for it.
He reconsidered.
"Well... if you're paying, I can help you with the writing and structure of your arguments. If you need help with Loen's laws themselves, I can also recommend some books for you."
Beatrice readily agreed and thanked him.
That should have been manageable right?
.....
Apparently it wasn't.
After she left, another student appeared.
Then another.
And another asking about tutoring.
Eventually, Shen found Devan, who was sitting peacefully in the library as if he had done absolutely nothing wrong.
Shen walked directly toward him.
Devan looked up in surprise and said excitedly. "Ah... Godfather! What a surprise. What brings you here?"
Shen placed one hand on the table and gave him a gentle smile. But anyone who knew Shen well enough would have immediately realized that there was nothing gentle about it.
"Devan, did you happen to tell anyone else about our tutoring sessions?"
Devan smiled proudly. "Yes! My friend Beatrice Campbell was struggling, so I told her how much you helped me. While I was at it, I mentioned you to a few other people too. After all, I did send these guys, so you can get a chance to make more money. It is the least I could do to repay you for all that you have done for me."
A few, you call this a few. And repay this for a reward.
Shen maintained his gentle smile through considerable effort, his teeth nearly grinding together.
"My... you have... a very generous heart."
"Thank you, Godfather. You don't have to compliment me so much. I'll get embarrassed," Devan replied with a bashful expression.
That wasn't a compliment, you idiot.
Shen's smile became even more pleasant.
"What... great... godson you are. It makes me want to strangle you for giving me such a reward."
Devan laughed like an idiot, apparently taking it as a joke.
That somehow made Shen want to strangle him even more.
After several minutes, however, Shen finally calmed down. There wasn't much he could do about it now.
Unfortunately, the damage had already been done.
Over the following weeks, Shen's number of students grew until there were thirteen.
Beatrice Campbell brought law, judicial reasoning, and writing. Another girl named Clara Hayes, a quiet psychology student, needed help organizing case observations and understanding several theories she had been struggling to connect.
Then another student named Thomas Reed studied mechanics and mechanical design, and his questions occasionally forced Shen to spend entire evenings studying before he felt confident enough to teach him properly.
Then there was another student named Edmund Hill, who brought biology and herbology. Julian Foster, who studied archaeology and ancient history.
Others came for help in mathematics, foreign languages, writing, and various subjects Shen had never studied in either of his two lives.
His peaceful life inside the library disappeared.
How did this happen?
He had taken this job because he wanted time to study peacefully.
Now people were paying him to study so that he could teach them what he'd just studied.
In my previous life, I didn't even work this hard when it was my own exam. Now I'm studying this much for other people's exams.
Shen eventually raised his tutoring fee to thirty pounds per session, partly because his time had genuinely become more valuable and partly because he was exhausted and hoped the high price would scare these students away.
It didn't.
With how effective his tutoring sessions had become, the students were apparently more than willing to spend that much if it meant improving their chances of passing.
Shen calmly accepted their money while lampooning furiously inside.
Thirty pounds! Thirty! What are these people made of? Money? Do their families have trees growing pounds in their backyards?
Apparently, he had severely underestimated the wealth of some of the students attending the university.
Since they were willing to pay that much, however, Shen had to put even more effort into adjusting his teaching style to suit each student. He refused to accept their money and then give them careless, half-assed lessons.
That decision destroyed what remained of his free time.
Library work came first. Tutoring followed whenever he had an agreed session, and his evenings increasingly disappeared beneath books he needed to study for the next day.
One evening, Shen sat in his bedroom surrounded by a mechanical text, two books on medicinal plants, a history reference, and Beatrice's legal notes.
He slowly lowered his pen and looked around.
I'm not even enrolled in the university, and I'm studying more than the actual students.
Shen covered his face with both hands.
What kind of life am I living?
He thought with lifeless eyes, but after a moment, his gaze moved toward the money he'd earned.
His suffering lessened considerably.
"At least I'm getting paid with a lot of money," Shen muttered, comforting his wounded heart.
Then he went back to studying.
One evening, Shen arrived home extremely late and exhausted, with dark circles beneath his eyes that made him look as though he could collapse at any moment.
Dinner had already finished, but Sera remained nearby while he ate the food that had been left for him.
She watched him with a frown for a while before finally asking, "Shen, what exactly are you doing at the library these days? You've been coming home exhausted almost every night."
Shen paused with his fork halfway to his mouth.
"Tutoring."
Sera blinked in confusion. "Tutoring? Weren't you working as a library cleaner?"
Shen sighed and briefly explained how helping one troublesome student had somehow turned into tutoring more than a dozen university students in subjects they are having trouble with.
Arthur, who had been reading nearby, lowered his paper and looked at Shen's exhausted face.
"You need to rest, Shen." He said in a serious tone, "And who told you to accept students so easily?"
"Well, I did not get the chance to refuse them." He said in a pained tone, "And I will take a rest after a few minutes."
Arthur continued to stare at him.
Shen sighed. "Ok ok I will. The examinations are close, so this should calm down afterward."
Arthur looked unconvinced, but Shen was too tired to defend himself further.
Sera on the side pouted cutely and said, "Humph, you don't tutor your own sisters and are tutoring strangers. I am disappointed with you, Shen."
"Or what do you like me to pay you for tutoring Elara and me as well?" She asked in a mock-angry tone.
"Now now, Sera. Shen is exhausted, so let him rest. If you want help with your studies, I could make some time to tutor you and Elara if you are having trouble." Arthur said this with a gentle smile.
Sera, seeing this, said hurriedly, "Ahh... No, Arthur, you don't have to. I don't want to impose on you for this kind of small request." It's not that she did not want to get help with her studies from her older brothers, but Arthur is a lot busy, even if he does not show it much unlike Shen.
But Shen seeing this saw through her thoughts and his lips twitched.
So Arthur is a lot busy, and I am what? Wasting time.
Shen did not know what to do and said with an exhausted smile, "Sorry, sorry. Next time when I have time, you can ask me to tutor you and Elara." Then he explained with a slight laugh, with his usual carefree smile, "Haha... and no, you don't have to pay me anything. How could I ask for payment from my beautiful and cute little sister, hmm."
Sera, seeing this, calmed down slightly and said with a helpless smile, "Forget it, you should get some rest. If I need help, I could just ask the professor who I have a good relationship with for some guidance."
.....
The following weeks remained exhausting, but eventually, the examinations arrived.
For the first time in what felt like ages, Shen had an afternoon without anyone sitting across from him expecting to be taught something he'd spent four nights learning.
The peace lasted three days.
Then the students returned.
Devan entered the library carrying several sheets of paper and nearly shouted Shen's name before Mr. Weber's glare reminded him where he was.
He hurried over and placed the papers on the table.
"I passed both of the exams, Godfather!" Devan announced excitedly, although he at least remembered to keep his voice down this time.
Shen looked at the papers.
History and mathematics.
The scores were considerably better than Devan's previous results.
Shen examined them for a moment before smiling. "You did extremely well this time."
Devan immediately blushed like a little girl.
Shen's smile stiffened.
Sigh... Just what is going on inside this guy's head?
The others returned over the following days.
Beatrice had performed extremely well in her mock judicial proceeding, with one of her written arguments receiving direct praise from her professor.
Thomas scored near the top of his mechanics class. Clara improved considerably, while Edmund passed both biology and herbology, which gave Shen almost as much relief as it gave Edmund.
Not everyone achieved exceptional results. Some simply passed, while others improved by a moderate amount.
Shen didn't mind. At least all of them had improved compared with where they'd started.
More importantly, for this result process, matter more than passing, so he is happy with this situ—.
Just as he was thinking, Shen suddenly froze.
Because he felt it again. That familiar sensation within him.
The Rising Star potion.
After remaining almost stagnant for so long, it was finally digesting again.
And this time, it wasn't a small amount.
Nearly half of the potion had been digested.
Shen stood silently for several moments as realization slowly settled in.
It had been nearly two and a half months since his last meaningful digestion, and now he finally understood why his work as a tutor had caused such a change.
It wasn't about learning multiple fields, and it wasn't about showing off his knowledge either.
Nor did he actually have to become a true professional in every field he learned.
It was about being someone who already belonged to one field yet could step into another, adapt to it, work within it, and still gain the acknowledgment of others.
A person who could enter unfamiliar paths and still shine brightly enough for the people there to recognize him as a capable newbie.
Like a Rising Star.
Shen's smile slowly grew into happy grin.
Finally, after all the studying, sleepless nights, endless books, and torturing students, he'd finally found a clearer direction for his acting method.
Then another thought entered his mind.
Shen calculated how long it had been since he'd consumed the potion.
His smile faltered into a grimace.
Three and a half months...
He wasn't sure whether he should be happy or sad.
Three and a half months, and even after all that work, he'd only digested around half of the potion.
Still, Shen quickly pushed the disappointment aside.
At least now he had clear direction for his acting method.
Most importantly, this also meant that continuing with the same work probably wouldn't help him much anymore with further digestion.
The library and tutoring had already given him the recognition he could gain from these particular fields.
If he wanted to digest the rest, he needed another field.
Shen's thoughts naturally returned to the second plan he'd considered before.
Looks like I'll have to leave the library job and this tutoring work behind eventually... and ask Erica about getting a chance to work at her family's tailor shop.
With this, it would put him in an entirely different field.
Whether it would work was something he'd find out.
Shen looked across the two tables at Devan.
Devan was still talking animatedly with several of his friends about passing their exams, completely unaware of Shen watching him.
A smirk appeared on Shen's face.
Looks like this idiot's generosity finally paid me back in a way I wasn't expecting.