These 12 system hours were the most abstract and surreal 12 system hours Aidan had ever experienced.
At midnight sharp, he switched his Path right on time.
[Erudition]
A calm Aidan stood up, opened his eyes, and met the gazes of the two geniuses before him.
"Oh? You really turned back into a human, and you're even walking on the Path of Erudition. Interesting."
"I was killed yesterday morning," Aidan said succinctly. "Otherwise, what you saw yesterday wouldn't have been me turning into a Swarm King larva."
The moment he switched to Erudition, he inadvertently recalled knowledge from beyond the boundary.
"Memory retention?"
"Complete retention."
"Let's start with the conclusion: you were killed by Genius Society #4, the Lord of Silence, Polka Kakamond, Mr. Genius Trailblazer who has yet to be glanced at by Erudition."
The Herta Puppet felt a surge of interest in the young man before her.
"What are you researching?"
"I forced myself to forget that knowledge and the research topic before I died," Aidan shrugged. "But unfortunately, Polka killed me anyway."
Herta got straight to the point: "You're quite the optimist. So, I want to know, what did it feel like right before you died?"
"Before I died?"
Aidan fell into reminiscence.
"Before I died, I realized Polka was attacking me, but I didn't have the strength to do anything else. I only had enough time to forget my research before I died. In my Erudition state, I have a brilliant mind but no matching physical fitness. Right now, I'm just a slightly smarter ordinary human. Any security guard in protective gear could pin me to the ground if they got close."
"You should be aware that forgetting is just a psychological suggestion. Once you know something, you know it. If you remember, Polka will hunt you down again."
"I don't care, as long as she doesn't go after innocent people."
Ruan Mei, who had been quietly observing from the side, finally spoke up: "Your Path switching is instantaneous, yet your memory is continuous. That's very interesting."
"What's so interesting about it?"
"Generally speaking, different Paths mean different cognitive frameworks and ways of thinking." Ruan Mei slowly approached. "If memories are fully retained, the cognitive patterns of different Paths would conflict. But you seem to have adapted well. Even though it was The Propagation yesterday and Erudition today, you can still converse with us fluently. This means your 'self' is more fundamental than the Paths."
"It took me a week to adapt after I got this ability. At first, there was indeed some cognitive confusion. I switched between the Knights of Beauty, Scions of Permanence, History Fictionologists, Self-Annihilators, City builders, and Abominations of Abundance. Then on the seventh day, I stepped onto Erudition and roughly figured out my Path-switching mechanism."
"Oh? And how did you figure it out?"
"I died seven times by jumping into lava."
"You jumped into lava just to test your Path mechanism?"
"To be precise, I jumped into the lava the first six times. The seventh time, I just fell in while walking."
"You're quite interesting, kid."
Herta's gaze held a hint of appreciation.
"You flatter me, I'm a very kind person. During the sixth test, I thought that if every death randomly switched me to the next Path, then theoretically, if I died fast enough, I could traverse all Paths in a short time. But I discovered there's an interval between resurrections."
"And then?"
"Then it was Trailblaze's turn. I saw the Astral Express and rushed over to join them."
Figures.
"However, hot-blooded fools like that are actually quite popular with Trailblaze." The Herta Puppet raised an eyebrow.
Ruan Mei remained noncommittal, focusing more on the internal changes within Aidan's body.
"Though the motive sounds primitive, it confirms that the Path is the underlying driver of your behavior patterns." Ruan Mei put away her terminal and said flatly, "When you walk on Trailblaze, you instinctively yearn for unknown journeys and the Astral Express. When you walk on The Propagation, you instinctively want to expand and replicate. And now..."
She fixed her gaze on Aidan.
"Now that you are walking on the Path of Erudition, what are your thoughts?"
"I want to get some sugar," Aidan replied. "I'm very weak right now, just an academic. I don't have powerful strength like you guys. You're proper Emanators, and I'm not. I get out of breath just by running a few steps."
On the Path of Erudition, his mind was clear but also exceptionally sensitive. The conversation with the two geniuses seemed relaxed, but in reality, he was constantly diverting part of his energy to process the flood of information entering his mind: the components of Ruan Mei's scent, the frequency of the lights outside the window, the various data on the Herta Puppet...
"How about we make a deal?"
"A deal?" Aidan asked while munching on a nutrition bar. "My current value shouldn't be very high, should it? Except for this brain that could attract an assassination from the Lord of Silence at any moment."
"On the contrary," Herta wagged a finger. "Your current value is immeasurable. You are the only specimen who can experience an assassination by the Lord of Silence from a genius's perspective and still resurrect with your memories intact."
"Let me correct you on one point: I'm not a genius. I'm just an ordinary person with a slightly active mind—at most, a Fool. Everything in scientific exploration is a 'discovery,' not an 'invention.' The more knowledge I gain, the more I understand my own ignorance."
"So the more knowledge there is, the less knowledge there is. Every time I understand a problem, more problems arise."
"So what is your attitude toward the unknown? Fear? Longing? Or indifference?"
Aidan thought for a moment. "...Curiosity. Curiosity is the driving force that keeps me learning."
"Fine, I respect your thoughts, smart kid." Herta chuckled.
Aidan stuffed the last bit of the nutrition bar into his mouth and brushed the crumbs off his hands.
"So, what are the terms of the deal?"
"It's simple." The Herta Puppet crossed her arms. "I need you to assist me in researching some special topics while on the Path of Erudition. In exchange, I will provide you with a certain level of resource support and protection."
"Protection?" Aidan raised an eyebrow. "Can you stop Polka?"
"No," Herta replied quite bluntly. "Because I can't be certain I can, therefore I can't."
Then...
Is it about the Simulated Universe?
"Research what?"
"I won't disclose that for now. Your current state is too unique; I need to observe for a while. Then, once I've confirmed a suitable topic, you'll be the first candidate considered."
"In other words, I'm a
backup."
"No, you're a backup with great potential," Herta corrected him. "Besides, you can resurrect, so your margin for error is high. Do you know how many geniuses have had gone forever because of a single lab accident?"