---o---
"I've already stepped onto the Path of [The Erudition]? That was even faster than I imagined..."
Ron couldn't help but feel a bit emotional as he read the text on the light screen. In the last simulation, just stepping onto the Path of [The Abundance] had taken a very long time of grinding experience as Natasha's assistant. The contrast with this simulation, where he joined the Path of [The Erudition] in just three days, was enormous.
In the previous run, he eventually hit a wall because Natasha had nothing left to teach him, but his Path progress still wasn't full. Ron had to stagnate for a long time, grinding daily tasks at Natasha's clinic and relying on special events to finally max out his progress.
He hadn't expected to face no such obstacles this time. Not only did Serval clearly have much more to teach, but Ron had even triggered a special event that increased his Path progress without him needing to study under her...
But what was this so-called "small 'Miracle' blueprint"?
Ron looked at the text on the screen. Next to the word "Miracle," which was enclosed in quotation marks, was a small, flashing exclamation point, clearly indicating a collapsible description.
Ron scratched his head, puzzled, and tapped the small icon. The text on the screen dimmed, and a flashing pop-up window appeared:
[Miracle Event: Gaze upon this sea of stars. The orbits of the celestial bodies are fixed by the effects of gravity. Star is entangled with star, each determining the future of the other.]
[Countless beings traverse the sea of stars, driven by their own desires into this cold hunting ground where all life is entangled and preys upon itself.]
[Everything is a thread woven by the hands of fate. All things follow this thread to their conclusion. The predetermined end will inevitably arrive, swallowing all in a cold void.]
[In this destined fate, all things are but a splash in the vast ocean. They may occasionally stir the waves, but they will always return to tranquility, rejoining the boundless deep...]
[Only Miracles transcend all, escaping the shackles of fate.]
[To turn the impossible into the possible, to transform expected mediocrity into unexpected brilliance—these are the ancient wonders that defy common sense, the extraordinary feats that are exceedingly difficult to achieve. All gifts and accomplishments that transcend fate are what the world calls "Miracles."]
[During a simulation, you have a chance to trigger a Miracle Event. The base trigger probability for a Miracle Event is -100%, what one might call "impossible."]
[However, certain traits, items, and environmental conditions can increase the trigger probability of a Miracle Event. Upon successfully triggering one, you are guaranteed to receive a "Miracle."]
[Miracles have no quality grade, because even the smallest Miracle is an impossible feat that breaks the rules of reality. Every "Miracle" is something you would otherwise have no chance of obtaining in a simulation.]
[Utilize the power of "Miracles" wisely, and you will go further in your simulations, pushing them toward better endings.]
Reading the long, detailed introduction on the screen, Ron stroked his chin, his interest in this so-called "Miracle" piqued.
"So it's like a special achievement or a bugged item that's almost impossible to trigger in the simulation... like hidden achievements in various games. They don't appear in the achievement list and have little to do with the game's ending, but triggering one always yields an unexpected reward..."
Ron muttered to himself, tapping the screen to close the pop-up window. He then clicked on the word "blueprint" with great interest.
He wanted to see what a blueprint worthy of being called a "Miracle" looked like.
Although he had no expertise in mechanical knowledge in reality, Ron was well-read and could probably make some sense of it.
Besides, this was a Miracle blueprint... Technology played a huge role in every simulation. While many things from his past simulations were difficult to replicate, Ron could absolutely copy this blueprint from the simulation and bring it into reality.
The text on the screen dimmed again, and another flashing pop-up appeared:
["Miracle Blueprint" — Anti-Gravity Stove Missile Launcher.]
Below the flashing title, a slightly crumpled piece of white paper appeared. On it were drawn all sorts of winding, convoluted lines. The countless lines combined to form what could only be described as the perfect interpretation of an inorganic lifeform's fever dream about spicy hotpot—a masterpiece of post-modernist, geometric abstract art.
So what the hell was this thing?!
Just as an inorganic lifeform would never eat spicy hotpot, Ron couldn't understand a single thing about the Miracle blueprint he had designed in the simulation...
Could this tangled mess of lines even be considered a blueprint?
Where were the mobile modules? The power conduits? The Geomarrow energy supply module?
Could you at least label where the launcher module for this "Anti-Gravity Stove Missile Launcher" is supposed to go?
Ron was completely baffled. For a moment, he even began to suspect that the Life Simulation Game had encountered some kind of abstract bug, turning the Miracle blueprint he was supposed to receive into this mess...
But no matter how many times he tried, reopening the blueprint several times, the Miracle blueprint remained the same abstract tangle of lines, showing no signs of changing into something new.
"How strange..."
Ron scratched his head in confusion, finally giving up on the idea of seeing a normal blueprint. He tapped the simulation screen before him, allowing the simulation to continue.
There was no point in getting stuck here... It was better to let the simulation proceed and see what awaited him now that he had successfully stepped onto the Path of [The Erudition]...
The text on the light screen faded, and new lines appeared.
[The night passes in a flash. You have successfully drawn a "Miracle Blueprint," but as the restless inspiration in your mind subsides and you calm down, you take a serious look at your creation, only to be stunned to find you cannot understand what you have drawn at all.]
[A design that is cold yet regulated? Modules that are wondrous yet fantastical? The brilliant ideas that amazed you as you drew them have now become twisted, tangled lines, devoid of any meaning.]
[You vaguely sense a wondrous power shrouding the blueprint. This power is distorting your vision and confounding your thoughts, making it impossible for you to discern what is truly drawn upon it...]
Reading the text on the screen, Ron paused, a bit confused.
"A power is shrouding this Miracle blueprint?"
"Distorting vision and thought, confounding cognition..."
Ron murmured to himself, and an answer immediately surfaced in his mind.
"Is it Mythus, the Aeon of [The Enigmata]...?"
Ron stroked his chin, falling into deep thought as he looked at the screen.
Mythus, The Enigmata. The Aeon presiding over the Path of [The Enigmata], its form unknown. It believes that things-in-themselves are unknowable, that the finite cannot comprehend the infinite, and thus all things are a mystery.
The notion that all things can be known is pure delusion. Life, relying on its limited grasp of laws, begins to extrapolate about the unknown, not realizing that the universe is incomprehensible and that truth is, in fact, an illusion.
Just from Its Path's driving force and philosophy, it was clear that Mythus, The Enigmata, was the absolute nemesis of Nous, The Erudition—an entity that was born as a celestial supercomputer to solve all things and, after ascending to Aeonhood, sought to comprehend the universe, unravel its mysteries, and calculate its ultimate answer. Their Paths' motivations and concepts were in complete conflict, practically opposites.
And now, the very Miracle blueprint that had enabled him to step onto the Path of [The Erudition] and trigger a Miracle was being affected by the power of [The Enigmata], rendering it unreadable. This was surely no coincidence...
With this thought, Ron sighed, abandoning his earlier idea of copying the blueprint.
Not only had this Miracle blueprint turned into a useless tangle of lines, but even if he triggered another Miracle event and obtained a different blueprint unaffected by the power of [The Enigmata], he wouldn't dare copy it into reality now...
Being targeted by Aha, The Elation, was terrifying. Did he really think being targeted by Mythus, The Enigmata, would be any less so?
The universal reputation of the Riddlers and Fictional Historians wasn't much better than that of the Masked Fools. Although they weren't known for their martial prowess, Ron had no desire to be on their radar either...
As Ron thought this, new text continued to appear on the screen:
[The wondrous power distorts your perception. You are stunned to discover that this power not only affects your view of the blueprint but is also influencing your mind, your memories...]
[Under the influence of this power from the Path of [The Enigmata], you begin to lose consciousness. You find yourself wanting to speak, but you cannot make a sound. The very concept of language begins to fade from your thoughts, and knowledge turns to rotten wood, ground into scattered dust by a violent wind, disappearing from your mind—]
[At that moment, you hear a cold, ticking sound.]
The border of the light screen transformed into cold, mechanical gears. All the text within melted away, becoming ink that blended into the screen's background. A detailed and clear image appeared, as sharp as the Interastral Peace Corporation's most advanced projection technology. Just looking at it felt like being there.
The scene began to play. Ron saw himself sitting at the dining table in his home. The Miracle blueprint was spread out before him, its lines a twisted knot. A wondrous power seemed to emanate from it, forming a colorless, ethereal mist that flowed into Ron's seven orifices, slowly twisting his thoughts.
The light of knowledge in his eyes was dimming, his intellect fading away...
But a short, ticking sound broke the hazy silence.
Ron's consciousness instantly snapped back. He listened closely and could faintly make out that the ticking was actually very clear Morse code.
....- .. ---
As the ticking sound echoed, all the distorting power on the Miracle blueprint before him was dispelled.
The light of wisdom shone upon the blueprint, scattering the mist and restoring the exquisite design born from Ron's genius inspiration...
Ron looked at the Miracle blueprint. Through it, he seemed to see a colossal celestial supercomputer. It was playing a cold symphony amidst the sea of stars. Beside it, many figures flickered in and out of existence, yet they all played in harmony with It, together creating the symphony named "Erudition."
Crisp ticking sounds surrounded It. Ron watched the massive supercomputer until a red light flashed on its dome. Only then did Ron's consciousness return to his body, leaving that cold sea of stars where the symphony of Erudition was being played...
The image on the screen faded, and new lines of text appeared:
[Because of your trait "Salvation," you have successfully stepped onto the Path of [The Erudition] while simultaneously being a Pathstrider of [The Preservation].]
[Because of your trait "Salvation," the concept of the Path of [The Erudition] has been broadened by an extremely small margin. You have now embarked on a Path that interprets [The Erudition] through the philosophy of Salvation.]
[Your blue trait "Salvation" has encompassed three Paths and has successfully upgraded to "Salvation (Purple)".]
[Salvation (Purple): The philosophy of Salvation reveals different directions forward. You are able to use the concept of Salvation to encompass the Paths you have walked, broadening their concepts and bringing you new outlets.]
[Currently, the Paths you have successfully encompassed with the Salvation trait are: [The Preservation], [The Abundance], [The Erudition].]
[In this simulation, the Paths you are simultaneously encompassing are: [The Preservation], [The Erudition].]
[All of your Path abilities will receive a minor boost, with an increase of 30%.]
[Because you have successfully broadened the philosophy of the Path of [The Erudition], Nous, The Erudition, has revealed a corner of the universe's myriad truths to you.]
[You have successfully heard the chord of truth. Aided by the ticking sound in your ear, you have dispelled the influence of the Path of [The Enigmata].]
[Your Miracle blueprint, "Anti-Gravity Stove Missile Launcher," has been successfully restored to its original form. The Wall of Perception placed upon it by the Path of [The Enigmata] has been broken.]
Looking at the screen, Ron pursed his lips, slightly dissatisfied.
Although stepping onto the Path of [The Erudition] had earned him the help of Nous, the difference compared to the last simulation was too great...
In the last simulation, the moment Yaoshi saw him, It had granted him a red legendary trait and the ability to pray for Its most generous blessings at any time.
This time, Nous had merely dispelled the influence of Mythus and left no other boons...
"Is it because Yaoshi, The Abundance, is too generous, while Nous, The Erudition, is too cold and has no interest in others?"
"It could also be because the 'Salvation' trait only broadened the Path's philosophy to an 'extremely small' degree this time... I guess the 'Salvation' trait isn't omnipotent. Not all Paths are compatible with it. For a Path that's not closely related, it's hard to broaden its philosophy much. It's normal not to be highly regarded by Nous..."
Ron stroked his chin, temporarily accepting the situation.
Whether Nous offered more blessings wasn't important... His affinity for the Path of [The Erudition] was so high that he would surely reach its depths one day.
At that time, as long as he came up with some other genius-level concepts, Nous would probably send him a ticket to the Genius Society and grant him multiple audiences, bestowing upon him the blessings of an Emanator...
With these thoughts, Ron was filled with anticipation for his performance in this simulation.
He tapped the screen. The text faded, and a new scene appeared:
[With the help of Nous, The Erudition, you have successfully returned to normal and have obtained a Miracle blueprint free of any negative influence.]
[Due to your audience with Nous, your mental state has been completely restored to its peak. The fatigue that should have come from drawing the Miracle blueprint has vanished without a trace.]
[The sun is bright outside, and it is already noon. You grab your thick textbooks and the Miracle blueprint and head to the "Perpetual Motion" Mechanical House.]
[You find Serval and excitedly hand her the blueprint...]