Herta thought about many things before finally turning her head to Ruan Mei beside her and saying, "Right now, I can already convert the imaginative elements within the emotions of living beings into Devil Fruits... In the future, I will certainly be able to extract singularity concepts from the universe and achieve Aeonhood!"
"I've never doubted that." After speaking, Ruan Mei shifted her gaze to the Devil Tree and asked, "So, who do you plan to have eat the fruit as a test subject?"
"I don't need a test subject. I have complete confidence in the Devil Tree I've researched. Just like how I unhesitatingly ate the Chakra Fruit back then, today I will eat the fruit grown from the Devil Tree myself."
After saying this, Herta locked her gaze onto the fruit growing at the very top of the Devil Tree—it resembled a brain, radiating a dense brilliance of intelligence.
With the help of the Research System's appraisal, information about the Devil Fruit appeared before Herta:
Paramecia-type · Brain-Brain Fruit.
Enhances and amplifies the intelligence of biological and mechanical brains!
Allows infinite storage of information!
It could be said that no matter who in this universe consumed this fruit, they would gain research capabilities that could stand at the pinnacle of a planet.
If someone like the future yet-to-be-born Dr. Ratio were to eat this fruit, they would soar instantly—it wouldn't be impossible for them to possess research abilities comparable to members of the Genius Society.
In short, the Brain-Brain Fruit was essentially an intelligence cheat!
Of course, its essence was also the aggregation of the fantasies of countless lives across millions upon millions of worlds—fantasies about the members of the Genius Society—which was why it granted such a boost to intelligence.
With a thought from Herta, in the Warp dimension, the black sun that represented her soul projection extended a psionic hand, plucked the Brain-Brain Fruit from the top of the tree, and personally delivered it before Herta's physical body.
Herta took the Brain-Brain Fruit and examined it closely, only to find that it looked far too much like an actual brain. If she had to describe it in one word, it was exactly like the "ginseng fruit" Herman had once mentioned.
Its appearance was extremely unsettling, but consuming it would have extremely beneficial effects on the body.
"It's best to eat it in one bite. But be careful—the taste might not be very good. You can also cut off your sense of taste in advance," Herman gave a kind reminder within Herta's inner world. At the same time, he decisively severed his shared sense of taste connection with her.
The taste isn't good?
How bad could it be... It doesn't matter. Once I eat it, my research points will increase. That means I'll get closer and closer to the pinnacle of Erudition, closer to the Droidhead.
Herta didn't take Herman's warning to heart. She opened her mouth wide and swallowed the Brain-Brain Fruit in one bite.
As for the taste... how should one describe it?
It was extremely bizarre—so abstract that it was beyond description. In short, it was utterly disgusting.
Herta's eyes widened instantly, but her reaction was swift. Following Herman's suggestion, she used the atomic gene abilities granted by her fourth-generation divine body to adjust her taste genes. Only then did she recover, gasping heavily as she spoke to Herman in her mind.
'This... it's that bad?!'
'I felt like my soul was about to leave my body just now!'
"I told you to cut off your sense of taste in advance," Herman replied helplessly, then asked about her experience after consuming the Brain-Brain Fruit.
Herta sensed herself and responded, "I feel like my mind has become much clearer, as if it's been upgraded. My thinking has become more structured as well."
Herman said, "That means the Brain-Brain Fruit really did enhance your intelligence. Use your appraisal ability and see what your base research capability has reached."
Without hesitation, Herta appraised herself and quickly obtained the result:
One who has completed self-coronation, forged a crown of wisdom, and walked an extremely long distance upon the Path of Erudition!
Base research points: 2000! Compared to her previous base of 1500, it had increased by a full 500 points!
And those additional 500 points were precisely the bonus granted by the Brain-Brain Fruit.
Of course, this did not yet include the 50% bonus from Universal Genius. If that bonus were included, Herta's research points would soar from 2000 to 3000.
And that also meant that Herta had reached a special milestone.
In terms of research points and research capability, she had surpassed her eighteen-year-old self—when she first entered The Blue's First University—by three times.
An undeniably massive leap.
At this moment, Herta confirmed that after consuming the Brain-Brain Fruit, she had taken another major step forward on the path of intelligence. She was now even closer to standing at the pinnacle of Erudition, closer to Nous.
Understanding Aeons, deciphering Aeons... perhaps in the near future, she would be able to accomplish it herself!
As Herta was thinking this, she heard Ruan Mei's concerned voice: "Herta, judging by how terrible your expression looked just now, could it be that there's something wrong with the Devil Fruit you ate?"
As she said this, a heavy thought had already formed in Ruan Mei's mind—Herta had stumbled. Her once unwavering confidence in the Devil Tree had failed, and the fruit she consumed had developed some kind of negative effect.
Ruan Mei looked at Herta with deep concern, truly worried that something had happened to her friend.
"Don't worry, Ruan Mei. I'm fine," Herta said with a relaxed smile. "The fruit produced by the Devil Tree I researched is extremely effective. It's just that the taste has a slight issue."
"Taste?"
Ruan Mei was slightly stunned and tried to persuade her. "It's not that the experiment went wrong, right? Herta, don't force yourself in front of me."
"I'm Herta. Everything I just said is true. When have you ever seen me lie?"
This time, Ruan Mei said nothing. Instead, she activated the scientific device in her eyes—a biological scanner. Very quickly, it detected that not only had Herta's physical condition not worsened, it had actually improved significantly.
With a trace of curiosity, Ruan Mei asked, "So just how bad does the Devil Fruit taste to make you show that kind of expression?"
"That's something you can only understand by experiencing it yourself. It's impossible to describe that strange taste with words."
After speaking, Herta added, "Of course, if you want to eat one, you can block your taste nerves in advance."
Ruan Mei shook her head slightly. "Compared to eating a Devil Fruit, I'm more interested in knowing what kind of effect the one you just ate has."
"You told me before that those who eat Devil Fruits become ability users with extraordinary powers. But you're already an Emanator of Erudition. If even you say the fruit was highly effective, then what kind of ability does it grant?"
"Paramecia-type Devil Fruit · Brain-Brain Fruit."
Herta didn't hesitate to state its name and classification, then described its effects:
"The Brain-Brain Fruit has a very simple effect. It increases brain capacity, as well as intelligence and research ability."
"Even the most foolish person who eats this fruit can become a scholar!"
"If a top researcher from the Intelligentsia Guild were to eat it, they might even gain a chance to join the Genius Society and become its 84th seat."
"And now that I've eaten it, it's pushed me even further forward."
Hearing this, Ruan Mei was even more stunned.
The Brain-Brain Fruit! A fruit of wisdom!
How could a fruit grown on the Devil Tree be this miraculous? It was as if it had seized an opportunity to rewrite fate from the very origin of the universe.
After thinking for a long time, Ruan Mei frowned slightly and asked, "What exactly is the essence of Devil Fruits? Why can they enhance a person's intelligence? This isn't normal—it's extremely abnormal."
"The essence of the fruit is what you just saw."
"Emotions—no, something more subtle and fundamental within emotions."
"That's right. It's the fruit of wisdom condensed from the fantasies of endless living beings about the intelligence of geniuses. That is the truth of the Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, the Brain-Brain Fruit."
"Only in this way can it possess the effect of enhancing intelligence after consumption."
Ruan Mei was deeply shaken. "So that's how it is. You extracted the concept of genius from the fantasies of endless living beings and condensed it into a fruit. Incredible... You really are already walking the path to becoming an Aeon."
Herta smiled faintly. "Not just me. Aren't you also walking the path you want?"
Ruan Mei did not refute this, but instead sighed. "You're moving much faster than I am. I've been an Emanator for many years and still haven't been able to extract concepts like this, yet you achieved it within your first month."
"I'm Herta." A faint smile hung at the corner of her lips. "Herta has no limits."
"By the way, are those also Brain-Brain Fruits?" Ruan Mei looked toward the Warp, where numerous fruits hung from the many branches of the Devil Tree.
"Of course not." Herta shook her head.
"To a certain extent, Devil Fruits also possess uniqueness. Of course, this uniqueness is far inferior to the conceptual primacy of Aeons."
A look of understanding flashed in Ruan Mei's eyes, and her desire to eat a fruit diminished slightly. "So they are other ability fruits extracted from the fantasies of endless living beings. And since you said the Brain-Brain Fruit is Paramecia-type, there should be other categories as well?"
"Of course." Herta nodded. "Devil Fruits are divided into three major categories: Paramecia, Logia, and Mythical Zoan."
Ruan Mei analyzed, "Paramecia likely comes from the desires of living beings across the universe for superhuman abilities—genius being one example. Then Logia should originate from both the negative and positive emotions produced by living beings toward natural disasters and phenomena?"
"And as for Mythical Zoans, they should come from people's imagination of supernatural creatures?"
Clap clap clap!
Herta brought her hands together and applauded. "Exactly. You got it all right."
A sharp glint flashed in Ruan Mei's eyes. "Then is there a Mythical Zoan fruit related to insects? If so, I want one."
Herta narrowed her eyes slightly. "I can give you one, but what do you want it for?"
Ruan Mei replied matter-of-factly, "Naturally, to use the fruit as a foundation to cultivate an even more powerful Starcrusher Swarm King. For example, making the existence of the Swarm King last longer than one minute... So, does such a fruit exist?"
"Of course it exists." Herta nodded, pointing at the Devil Tree. "After all, the Swarm Disaster didn't happen that long ago. People still harbor various negative emotions toward insects, and those emotions contain all kinds of perceptions about them. Naturally, they will form insect-type Mythical Zoan fruits."
"In fact, on this newly grown Devil Tree, a Mythical Zoan · Swarm Emperor Fruit has already appeared. As the name suggests, whoever eats it can transform into an insect and become the ruler of a swarm."
After saying this, Herta glanced at Ruan Mei. "You're not planning to eat it yourself, are you?"
"Of course not. I only need to perform biological activation and then carry out biological modification. That way, it could become a Starcrusher Swarm King." Ruan Mei paused before continuing, "Of course, there's a chance the experiment could fail. So are Devil Fruits truly unique? Or after the original user dies, can they be reformed through other means?"
"They are truly unique. But when an ability user dies, the fruit's power doesn't disappear..."
"It will only be reborn after the Devil Tree absorbs more of the fantasies of endless living beings."
At this point, Herta added, "Of course, since the Swarm Disaster only ended recently and people's fear of insects is still strong, you don't need to worry about the consequences of failure when using the Mythical Zoan Swarm Emperor Fruit for experiments."
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Ruan Mei's lips. "If experiments don't lack test subjects, then that's truly wonderful!"