When Altair opened his eyes again, everything around him was a vast white.
As Altair stepped in, the surrounding space began to ripple.
Countless architectural structures sprouted from the flat ground beneath him, assembling into an ancient castle that stood facing him.
By the time Altair sensed something was wrong, his legs no longer felt like his own and started marching forward of their own accord.
The moment he touched the castle gate, Altair's eyes turned blank; only after who-knew-how-long did he come back to himself.
From the information he'd just received, this 'high-dimensional descender' had indeed been granted a 'rank' because of his uniqueness—but not that of the 'High-Dimensional Overseer', since 'He' already existed and could not be replaced.
Yet his arrival had also given the 'Original Creator' some new 'concepts', so a trace of 'pure origin' had been instinctively bestowed upon him.
That faint sliver of 'pure origin', fused with his being, had produced this structure.
The building's purpose was to record everything he had ever seen and compile it into books.
This fusion! It was basically the bargain-bin version of the 'High-Dimensional Overseer' plus the 'Omnipotent God Almighty'!
It offered observation, but only if he looked; it offered omniscience, but only if he recorded.
He couldn't create from imagination, couldn't move freely through dimensions… and at core he was still a 'normal person'. The only difference was this tiny 'rank' without power—even a mortal could kill him just the same. Apart from this 'library', he hadn't gained nothing at all.
There were other perks: 'I won't be affected by the 'orthodox gods' of my Path; even if high Sequences mess up their own Path, it won't touch me, because our ranks are equal and they can't find me.'
But those 'Outer Deities' could still influence him!!
'From now on, besides my main Path—Assassin—I can pick three Beyonder characteristics as subsidiary Paths, though they'll stay subsidiary.'
'Think of it this way: I'm originally a block of iron; drinking the Assassin potion forges me into a dagger, and that shape can't change. A subsidiary Path just adds extra functions—like poisoning the dagger in real life.'
Altair's first thought was to grab Hunter for himself—sadly, no go.
Hunter symbolized yang, Assassin yin; with a yin main Path he couldn't add yang. Yin and yang could be trained together—but not yet.
His subsidiary Paths could only be yin or neutral.
Still, not a bad deal—at least he'd gain three extra Path abilities.
Assassin was practically all-round: strong early, mid-game divination, anti-divination, black magic, and late-game insane survivability plus massive AoE damage.
Sleepless, Warrior, Corpse Collector—too risky, conflict. Pass.
Bard, Sailor, Secrets Supplicant—ability clash. Pass.
Prisoner, Sin—clash, and I still want to stay human. Pass.
Lawyer, Arbiter—clash. Pass.
Since he had a 'library', he definitely needed a creation-type Path.
Mystery Pryer, Reader—no large-scale crafting. Pass.
Door's powers were nice, but he could craft Beyonder items himself later.
Seer—already had boiling. Pass.
Marauder—can't afford the risk. Pass.
Apprentice—only one desired ability, craftable later. Pass.
Planter—love farming games, but the Desolate Matriarch's quirks… Pass.
Apothecary—some conflict, acceptable.
As for Monster—forget it, born unlucky.
Spectator—exactly what I need most!
After deliberation, Altair settled on three subsidiary Paths: Spectator, Apothecary, and Savant; he'd gather the materials from the treasury in the next couple of days.
As for formulas—sorry, human-shaped third Blasphemy Slate. The only reason he hadn't become an Assassin this month was he'd been waiting for someone; being discovered as a Beyonder would be hard to explain.
With his mind made up, Altair cut the link to the 'library' and returned to reality.
Seeing Altair's eyes open, Vivian relaxed.
'Feel any changes in your body?'
Altair did a few moves—hops, light jogs—then told her straight,
'I feel lighter, can jump higher, and I'm faster than before.'
Vivian nodded. 'Though Assassin is the starting potion of its Path, it has advantages others lack: eagle vision, darkvision, a lithe body, expert stealth in shadows, and the ability to focus power into a single lethal burst.'
'Then congratulations—you're officially a sequence 9 Beyonder,' she said, clapping softly.
Altair answered with a compliment: 'I couldn't have become a Beyonder this fast without your help.'
Vivian hugged him at once. 'So don't I deserve a reward?'
Seeing her expression, Altair said, 'What would you like? I'll buy it for you.'
'Ugh, still such a blockhead,' she sighed.
'Altair, right now you should kiss me, or even push me down onto the bed.'
Hearing that, Altair turned away with an awkward silly grin.
'Becoming a Beyonder isn't good fortune—we face curses and misfortune every moment.'
'After generations of research, the churches have worked out a better way to digest a potion: the Impersonation Method. Just as it sounds, act the name of your Sequence; it speeds digestion and lowers the risk of losing control…'
Listening to Vivian explain the 'Impersonation Method', Altair concluded he must be valuable to the Demoness Sect—otherwise they'd never have taught it to him.
He recalled that because of 'Cheek' the Demoness Impersonation Method had an extra hidden rule: 'Remember you're a man!'
But that had nothing to do with him—'She' couldn't affect him.
'From today on, I'm your occultism tutor. My luggage's packed; I just need to move in. Whenever I don't feel like going home, I'll stay here.'
'A Beyonder must master not only personal abilities but also many languages—Hermes, Elvish, Giant, etc.—plus ritual magic, material crafting, and other occult knowledge.'
'Of course, besides the potion I brought you other gifts, including what you asked of 'George III'. He'll make regular deposits into this anonymous account until the cooperation ends.'
'Your other 'teachers' will arrive in turn. Later, besides learning the occult from me, you'll study with them as well. This is the first order 'George III' has issued: he wants you to infiltrate the social circles of those ladies and young mistresses as soon as possible.'
'Don't worry—I've had noble education myself, albeit from the Intis Republic. Same principles apply, so I can guide you.'