At night, Varina sat quietly at his table, without a lamp.
If everything were normal, he would be studying his borrowed books by the light of a whale oil lamp. This was a learning opportunity he had secured through his cousin, who was studying grammar at Backlund University, and he cherished it greatly.
But reality doesn't allow for "what ifs."
During the day, his colleague John had pointed out something special about him: his body was more coordinated than before, he could see in the dark, and he was difficult to detect.
This was undoubtedly a supernatural trait.
Before he could even verify it, the supernatural power had come knocking on his door, making his dream memories seem even more real and believable.
But why did he possess a supernatural trait?
Varina pondered for a long time and found a possible explanation—his parents.
Both his parents had died when he was very young; if they had been superhumans, he could indeed have inherited some of their traits.
And in this way, could his awakened dream memories be seen as guidance left by his parents to help him become a transcendent?
Varina's reasoning went further—which "divine path" did his traits belong to? The traits
of "body coordination," "darksight," and "shadow concealment"
combined led him to a conclusion he found difficult to accept—the Assassin's Path.
This was hardly a good path.
The moment Varina reached this conclusion, countless curiosities and speculations arose about his deceased parents' past. And afterwards, he felt pain for himself.
Those who have read the original work know that the Assassin's Path is also known as the Witch's Path, and the Sequence 7 potion is called "The Witch," which, when consumed, causes a man to change sex into a woman.
And he didn't want to become a woman!
This was easy to solve; he simply needed to give up advancing to Sequence 7 after becoming a transcendent. This would solve the problem of a shortened lifespan caused by transcendent traits and avoid gender change.
But this choice also had its problems.
Transcendent power truly existed, so the doomsday prophecy of a decade or so later could almost certainly be true. Although Varina couldn't recall the reason for the apocalypse, he knew it was a disaster even the true gods couldn't resist.
He asked himself, could he really remain at the weak Sequence 8, handing his fate over to others?
"No, no!"
Varina easily heard his own inner voice, two voices.
"Then it seems there's only one choice—continue advancing along the 'Witch' path, and at Sequence 4, switch to the 'Hunter' path, becoming a man again."
Varina comforted himself:
"Just think of it as playing a dress-up game; after all, in another memory, he'd played quite a few games with female protagonists."
"The Assassin's path is better than those dead ends where the ascension is completely blocked..."
After a long mental journey, Varina's thoughts had yielded some results.
First, learn Ancient Fursak and Hermes, laying the foundation for mastering Giant's Language and Ancient Hermes later—the latter two being essential mystical languages for professional superhumans.
Second, he needed to infiltrate the circle of extraordinary individuals to find the recipe and ingredients for the Assassin's Potion—this required a large amount of gold pounds, and given his current circumstances, he would likely have to resort to illegal means.
Having set his goal, Varina felt much more relaxed. He glanced out the window; the Tasok River still shimmered under the moonlight, the night concealing its turbidity, leaving only beautiful light and shadow.
The night was past midnight; it was time to sleep.
...
In the morning, Varina left earlier than yesterday, heading in the opposite direction.
Today was his day off; he was going to Backlund University to meet his cousin.
This was an agreement that had lasted for over a year. It was thanks to this agreement that he had access to borrow books for self-study.
Varina packed the books he needed to return and his only formal attire into a cloth bag, then walked for over an hour, finally leaving the East Wing area.
Next, he needed to go to the subway station at the intersection of the East Wing and the Backlund Bridge area, take the train to the West Wing, and then transfer to a horse-drawn carriage.
This journey, spanning most of the city, cost Varina a considerable sum in both time and money.
Around noon, he finally arrived at his destination, once again seeing Backlund University's castle-like buildings and imposing gates.
Wearing a black vest, a matching suit, clean dark trousers, and a top hat, Varina suddenly looked dashing.
He looked like a student there.
After a lavish lunch at a nearby restaurant, he went to the student dormitory area and knocked on his cousin's door.
The door opened a crack, and a rather handsome face peeked out, smiling upon seeing Varina.
"Cousin, you're here. Come in and sit down."
He opened the door, revealing a slightly taller figure than Varina, and gestured for Varina to sit in the reception area before turning to prepare a seat.
"Reyes, no need for that. I'm not a guest,"
Reyes chuckled, his hands moving quickly. Soon, he placed a cup of coffee in front of Varina.
"A cup of coffee will ease the fatigue of the journey."
"I've also prepared the business school textbooks you requested, three in total, mainly accounting-related. I'll go get them for you now."
Varina called out apologetically,
"Wait."
"This time, I'd like to borrow introductory textbooks in Old Forsac and Hermes, and it would be best if you could also transcribe a page of Russell's Secret Notes for me."
"I know my request is a bit abrupt, but it's very important to me, and I hope you can help me."
Reyes sat down beside him, asking with a puzzled look, "Why have you suddenly become interested in these obscure languages? Aren't you planning to pursue an accounting career?"
He hesitated for a moment, then added, "Borrowing the books isn't a problem, but when do you need them? As for Russell's Notes, I can't guarantee that."
"I'll come back tomorrow, is that alright?"
"Tomorrow? So urgent?" Reyes frowned. "Is something wrong?"
"Some things did happen, but I can handle them myself,"
Varina said, taking two more books from her bag and pushing them onto the table. "These are to be returned."
Reyes glanced at them casually, not seeing the note with the questions written on it, and a new question arose:
"Are there any problems this time that you need me to ask your tutor for you?"
"There were, but they've been resolved now."
"Alright then," Reyes stood up. "I'll do my best to help."
"Cousin, have you had lunch? We can eat together."
Varina shook his head and declined:
"No need, I've already eaten."
"Then I'll leave it to you. I'll head back now."
Reyes sighed: "Hey, you're always like this."
"I'll see you off."In the evening, Varina returned from the West District and arrived at the Backlund Bridge area.
He had come here to search for the "Braveman's Bar."
Of course, this time he was only there to scout ahead and had no intention of making any further contact.
Although he had information from another memory to guide him, every step he took was actually venturing into unknown territory, and being able to confirm something beforehand would make him feel much more at ease.
Varina remembered that the Braveman's Bar in the Bridge District was a gathering place for extraordinary individuals, but he wasn't quite sure which street it was on.
He asked around and spent quite a bit of time before finally finding the bar on Iron Gate Street, seeing its black wooden door and the burly man guarding it.
"There really is this bar! But I won't go in today; I'll come back when I'm ready."
Varina withdrew his gaze and continued walking along the street as if he were just passing by, quickly leaving Iron Gate Street at the other end.
About two hours later, after having dinner outside, Varina finally returned to his own little world. After showering, he leaned lazily against the headboard, vaguely thinking about ways to make money, and soon fell into a deep sleep.
...
The next day at noon, Varina returned to the dormitory area of Backlund University.
Although each shift only lasted one day, he had previously arranged with John to swap shifts, gaining two consecutive days off.
"...I don't know if this is your good luck or mine, haha, anyway, when I asked my classmates about the Roselle Notes, I quickly got some results."
Varina couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. He gently pushed aside the ordinary coffee in front of him and placed the books his cousin handed him.
"Let me see..."
Two books, one titled "On the Origin of Old Fursac" and the other "An Introduction to Hermes," with a note tucked between them, presumably the Roselle Notes that Reyes had mentioned.
Varina picked up the top book, casually flipping through a few pages, but actually using his peripheral vision to observe the contents of the note.
He was so eager to verify his dream memories through the Roselle cipher that he was almost impatient.
A line of crooked, distorted, enlarged simplified Chinese characters came into view. Varina quickly deciphered the content:
"March 6th, damn it, the food here is making me constipated!"
His pupils constricted sharply.
Shock!
Even though he felt he had mentally prepared himself, Varina was still stunned, his scalp tingling.
This was all real!
So Rosell was definitely the so-called time traveler!
"And me too?"
Varina seemed to be transported back to the night he awakened his memories, facing that seemingly ordinary yet terrifying question again—Who am I?
Previously, he had barely suppressed his other personality by questioning the authenticity of those memories and his unchangeable external identity. But as he verified things step by step, especially with the deadly truth of Rosell's diary, he was once again in danger.
A moment later, Reyes noticed Varina's strange behavior.
He had noticed Varina's blank stare after receiving the book, but he assumed the other was studying or memorizing some text. When he noticed Varina's expression stiffening and contorting, he vaguely realized
something had happened.
"Hey, cousin, are you alright?"
Reyes instinctively patted Varina's shoulder, asking with concern.
"Huh?"
Varina snapped out of it. "Cough, I'm fine, just suddenly remembered something."
He quickly closed the book in his hand, pressing it back over the note to cover the crooked Chinese characters.
Then, he instinctively looked at his cousin and asked, "Reyes, I want to ask you a question. What kind of person do you think I am?"
This was a difficult question to answer.
Reyes had intended to brush it off with a few jokes, but a strange restlessness prevented him from doing so. He leaned back in his chair, thought for a moment, and then said,
"In my eyes, you are a strong person."
Varina was somewhat surprised: "Just that simple?"
Reyes gestured for Varina not to rush, then continued,
"You never ask for help from others unless absolutely necessary, which is why I say you are a strong person."
"Besides that, you are also a kind person."
"Perhaps you usually appear aloof and difficult to get close to, but that's just a facade. Essentially, it's because you're afraid of bothering others; it's a special kind of kindness."
Reyes turned to Varina, forcing a smile. "That's about enough. Any more and we'll be talking about your flaws."
"No, say more!"
Varina's expression was somewhat agitated, because he found that Reyes's seemingly casual words had made him feel much more relaxed.
"Need to say more?" Reyes hesitated, somewhat troubled, before continuing, "Your shortcomings are actually the same as what I just mentioned."
"Someone like you has a hard time building a sufficient network."
"In other words, if you don't make changes, you'll need to put in much more effort than the average person to achieve a happy life."
At the end, Reyes suddenly sat up, staring into Varina's eyes and asking,
"Cousin, why don't you try changing?"
This question startled Varina; his cousin seemed to have sensed something.
But this wasn't something he could help with.
Thinking this, Varina finished his coffee in one gulp, then stood up, pretending not to have heard his cousin's advice:
"Thank you for your assessment, Reyes."
"Let's stop here for today; I should go back."
Reyes quickly stood up as well. "Okay, see you next month."
…
Seven o'clock that evening.
Iron Gate Street, Brave Ones Bar.
Varina pushed open the door and immediately felt the strong, strange smell of alcohol mixed with a noisy commotion.
He felt uncomfortable in the environment, but still frowned as he looked for the bar and squeezed through.
"A Southvale beer."
Lacking knowledge of drinks, he could only mimic Klein's choice from memory.
"Five pence."
The bartender behind the counter glanced at Varina. "If this is your first time drinking, I suggest you try 'Half and Half,' it's smoother than Southvale beer."
"Alright, a 'Half and Half,' please." Varina accepted the bartender's offer.
"Four and a half pennies."
Varina counted out the coins and placed them on the bar, receiving a large wooden glass filled with a pale yellow liquid. He took a sip and found it slightly sweet, without the expected bitterness of beer; it was quite good.
He raised his glass to the bartender: "Not bad, thanks for the suggestion."
"It's my job, I'm glad you like it."
Varina nodded with a smile. "If you could do me another favor, that would be even better. I'll find Kaspersky Kanlinin."
Hearing this, the bartender's smile immediately faded. He scrutinized Varina for a few seconds before gesturing towards a certain spot to the side, "Over there, billiards room number two."
"Thanks again."
Varina picked up his glass and left the bar.