Truman gazed out, beholding a towering mountain range piercing the clouds, its peak lost from sight.
In the distance, terrifying behemoths seemed to writhe, their wolf howls echoing faintly.
"This place is near the Annihilation Demonic Wolf's divine kingdom?!" Truman gasped.
What a masterful play of hiding in plain sight!
Truman's hand, clad in the Elder Glove, grasped at the air as if seizing something, and he vanished.
When he reappeared, he was a safe distance from the Annihilation Demonic Wolf's divine kingdom.
Then, he saw all manner of bizarre creatures.
Demon wolves, mist treants, thousand-faced hunters—beyonder creatures that could serve as potion ingredients in later eras—roamed here.
This was the periphery of the Annihilation Demonic Wolf's divine kingdom, where these creatures, or rather the beyonder characteristics within them, were unconsciously drawn, converging on this mountain range.
The scene when these extraordinary creatures gathered was predictable.
Beasts might sate their hunger, but these creatures only grew hungrier with each bite.
Bloodshed, madness, and grotesquery—scenes that challenged human comprehension unfolded before Truman's eyes. At any moment, he could see beyonder creatures driven insane by consuming too many chaotic characteristics.
Of course, there were also those rare "chosen ones" who survived the madness, stumbling into higher tiers by sheer luck.
Truman observed for a long time, marveling again at the chaos before the first Blasphemy Slate's sequence formulas appeared.
The name of the Ancient Sun God had yet to spread in this world, and the Blasphemy Slate naturally didn't exist.
As he prepared to leave, the hem of his Sage Robe fluttered. His fingers subtly manipulated the spiritual threads of the area using the Elder Glove.
The Sage Robe constantly analyzed the world's knowledge, with the Elder Glove being a key component.
Truman, leveraging the Traveler's mimicry, could wield many abilities.
"Why doesn't this saint show themselves?" Truman wasn't aiming to kill the hidden figure but gently tugged the spiritual threads, forcing the saint to reveal themselves.
Since Truman addressed them as a saint, they were no weaker than a Sequence 4 of later eras.
At that moment, a figure materialized in the air.
It was a tense young man in a gray-white robe, with thick hair and a refined aura, though his appearance was rather unremarkable.
"Are you a god?" the young man asked, visibly apprehensive.
Yet, both the Book of Dreams' intuition and the Sage Robe's knowledge warned Truman: this man held no reverence for so-called gods.
He observed Truman with a dragon-like arrogance, as if no movement escaped his eyes.
And something seemed to be… disappearing.
The Spectator pathway's hypnosis and virtual personas—had he erased some of Truman's memories or even altered his personality?
Thanks to the Book of Dreams and Sage Robe's warnings, Truman noticed. A warrior-like demigod might have had their characteristics swindled.
Truman looked at the man and realized something. "You're human?"
Indeed, human.
The young man's expression shifted just right, while Truman's own look grew curious.
"What's your name?" Truman asked.
"Hermes," the young man replied, already seeking an escape, invisible forces spreading on the mental plane.
Truman smiled. Was this a case of wishes fulfilled, dreams coming true?
This was one of his goals for venturing out—who'd have thought he'd encounter him right away?
Truman released the spiritual threads, and the tension between them eased quickly.
"I'm not a god. I'm human too," Truman explained to the saint.
Truman held some fondness for this founder of occult studies. After a moment's thought, he dispelled the secretive power of his divine badge, causing Hermes's eyes to widen slightly.
"Truly human?!" Hermes confirmed, noting Truman's spiritual body was utterly free of mystical or corrupted traces—purer than a newborn!
"But…" Hermes harbored doubts but visibly relaxed.
In this era, Hermes was young, driven by the ideal of forging an extraordinary path for humanity, showing his deep connection to humankind. Truman's human identity was enough to lower some of his guard.
Honestly, humans in this era were often excessively honest…
"You're studying how these beyonder creatures advance?" Truman glanced at a thousand-faced hunter before Hermes, one of the "chosen ones."
After a chaotic battle, it had devoured a six-winged gargoyle's crystal, lucking into a surge of greater power.
"You're observing them to find a pattern?"
"Sequence 6 to Sequence 5 isn't a huge leap. With some luck, it's reasonable—just insane," Truman commented.
His casual remark sent a shock through Hermes, the concept of "sequence" opening a new world to him.
Though unfamiliar with the term, Hermes's robust occult foundation—solid even in later eras—allowed him to glimpse its profound implications.
It was order, humanity's hope!
Hiss! Even a saint of the Dragon pathway, later known as the Spectator pathway, couldn't hide his thoughts. His thirst for knowledge even stirred Truman's Sage Robe.
"Can you teach me about these sequences?" Hermes bowed, pleading.
Truman chuckled. "Of course, but I have a small request."
"Take me to various human city-states to find certain people."
"…No problem!" Hermes hesitated, then agreed.
The other was a pure human—surely not worse than supernatural races that enslaved or ate humans?
Hermes likely didn't yet know the term "traitor to humanity"…
"Good. One more question, if I may. How did you become a saint? It's tied to sequence knowledge." The atmosphere relaxed, and Truman's curiosity piqued.
Related to sequences… Hermes grasped something. Truman's era-transcending insight was dazzling to an explorer like him, stirring his heart.
"When my city-state was destroyed by a monster, I forcibly consumed a crystal imbued with mystical power…" Hermes roughly described the event.
"Hermes is equivalent to a Sequence 4 Manipulator of later eras…" Truman thought. "During a city's fall, despair or resolve resonates strongly, fulfilling the ritual by chance."
"You were lucky—and remarkable." The Manipulator's ritual hinged on resonance. Without a resolve to perish with the city, the ritual wouldn't succeed.
"So, any thoughts on your advancement?" As they walked, leaving the chaotic battlefield, they discussed sequence knowledge.
The spirit world faithfully recorded everything, and future Ancient Scholars would glimpse this pivotal moment in human history through the fog of time.
(End of Chapter)
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Do You Know:
Hermes, a Spectator pathway saint, mirrors Lord of the Mysteries' Hermes, a key figure in occult history.