u/chuckii2

Well, what can I say? I've certainly come far. I was only a Sequence 9, but I'm already preparing to reach Sequence 5...

I've gathered a group of students as required by the ritual, some smarter than others, like Smith and Arthur, some dumber...

But that doesn't change much; as long as I reach the minimum quota, everything will be fine.

I was in the Aurora Order quarters and knew for a fact that someone was watching me from the shadows. It was my first advancement requiring a ritual, and it will certainly be tough for me. This "stalker" will take care of cleaning up in case of failure.

I get on my knees and begin to pray silently to my Lord. His shadows and darkness have guided me this far, and it's only right to thank Him and ask for further guidance. I feel a slight satisfaction from the shadows behind me, but I ignore it.

Everything I need is on a table covered with a red veil.

I glance quickly at the formula to confirm everything, and soon I begin. My once-clumsy movements are now fast and sure, honed by six Sequences.

120 ml of Shadow Naga blood stains the pure water, turning it an extremely dark red. With certain reflections, it could even be mistaken for black. I insert three Brass Dragon scales, kindly donated by the Order, and watch them float for a while before moving on.

One Mysticism Spell that has been conceived and verified but not yet created. This was one of the most difficult ingredients to find. Luckily, one of my seniors chose to help me by entrusting me with his creation...

"One piece of a spell's notes recorded by another person" was also entrusted by him...

The pieces of paper began to be absorbed by the potion while all the knowledge contained within continues to be ravenously devoured. The previously contained information remains afloat for a while before being fully digested.

And in the end, I only need the two main ingredients: the brain fluid of a young Brass Giant Lizard and the small intestine of a Shadow Naga.

The intestine begins to be devoured, destroyed into small muscle strands fully absorbed by the potion, making it thicker than before. Meanwhile, the brain fluid seems to be attracted to the previously inserted scales.

The fluid combines, giving it a previously missing sheen, revealing that beautiful brass color to the world. Likewise, this small addition seems to have affected the weight of the scales, which now seem to move up and down.

Finally, it's ready, the potion to advance to Sequence 5: Mysticism Magister.

I take the dark red liquid with the scales inside and drink it in one gulp. The liquid has a strong metallic taste, and the scales are unexpectedly not too hard. In fact, some would say almost gelatinous.

I drink the potion easily and wait a few seconds in surprise. It wasn't happening anything...

Not noticing any side effects, I almost turned to my observer, but-

Tick!

A sound catches me off guard; something like a drop seems to have fallen to the ground.

I raise my hand and touch my shaky face.

Blood. Blood was coming out of my eyes!

Suddenly, I kneel on the ground, screaming at the top of my lungs. The pain is unbearable, unlike any potion I've ever taken.

Sure, the headache was normal. I'd felt it so many times... but it wasn't just that. It was as if my brain was splitting open to receive something.

And that something was information, knowledge, and mystical symbols. Some of them spoke of war, others of seduction, others of deception, and others of death.

I'm almost to the point of giving in, but that's when something changes.

My brain seems to close down, as if it has decided to filter only certain information, only certain symbols. Symbols of chaos and seduction, of misfortune and darkness, of fortune and destiny, of birth and depravity, and ultimately of the abyss and evil.

Ah, it seems this was the true purpose of the ritual: to limit the processing of knowledge. Could this perhaps be the first step toward a kind of omniscience?

Eventually, the pain persists, but much weaker than before. At this point, the ending has already been decided.

I simply get up, wiping my face with my now blood-stained hand. My eyes now have brassy reflections in them.

I smile at the listening shadows, who simply gather around me.

Finally, I hear a faint whisper.

"Congratulations."

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A lot of thanks to u/Ok_Witness_8006 and u/Intelligent-Tour9467 for becoming my students.

And thanks for everyone that read this stuff!

One of the first thingst that "Qingyan" tells to our dear Ding Songyan.

"My dear baby brother, don't you recognise your own elder sister?"

Maybe I'm just on copium....

'Good, good,' I thought with satisfaction as I looked at the objects in front of me. It had been a short time, yet my genius had allowed me to digest the potion so quickly!

'Eh eh finally!'

Three sequences; for three entire sequences, I hadn't gained any kind of power. Sure, my memory, reasoning, and mastery of ritualistic magic were extraordinary.
But when I looked at the other Beyonders, I always felt something was missing. But this would end soon.

I took a chili e, the same one I'd used in the past, and immediately began adding the usual 100 ml of pure water.

I opened a box and took out the first supplementary ingredient: a flask containing 150 ml of White-tailed Red Fox blood. As I gradually added the blood, I watched it expand and expand until the contents became a ree puddle.

Opening another box, I took out a pair of eyes from a Deep Sea Naga. I must admit, their presence was peculiar; it seemed the Naga were closely connected to the Reader Pathway.

The eyes, previously a pale white, were now irritated by exposure to the outside environment, showing signs of redness and veins, while the iris had a light green color with a reptilian pupil.
Inserting the eyes into the contents, I was surprised to see how, instead of simply melting, the eyes were reacting differently.

In fact, the color of the pair's irises was slowly fading as if absorbed by something.
Soon, the eyes seemed to lack any iris or pupil, becoming just white balls.

Only then did the eyes behave like normal ingredients, melting like meat...

Now I had to move on to two other ingredients, which in reality were not contained in any kind of box.
The first was a certificate dating back to my time at the University in my homecity in Lenburg, certifying the passing of an exam and the various books needed to pass it. The list exceeded 100 titles…

While the second was a piece of knowledge discovered in special, or rather, unknown places...
It had been very difficult to find, but in the end, I discovered this. An ancient document composed of a yellow sheet of paper, of Who knows how many years old.
It spoke of a city not found in any space or time. Of a city painted in red, yellow, black, and white.

Once I had entered the two sources of information, I noticed with great interest how the writings were once again absorbed by the potion, as if it were hungry for knowledge.
But at this point, instead of melting inside, the documents began to burn, their now empty pages reduced to mere smoke in the air.

I continued to stare until this small fire stopped. The potion was still red, but there was now something inexplicable inside it; it was as if small beings were hiding in the liquid...

But no matter, the creation of the potion must be completed. So I continued and poured in the main ingredients.

The scalp of a Deep Sea Naga and the gastric pouch of a White  tailed Red Fox.
Fortunately, their reaction was much more normal, and as soon as I inserted them, they disappeared into the liquid, mingling with each other.

I must admit that compared to all the other potions, this one had a rather boring evolution; the red color was the same as before, and nothing had changed. With one exception, those "small beings" had revealed themselves.

They were not living beings, but rather characters, letters, and much more. They appeared and disappeared among the waves and depths of the liquid at will. I couldn't be certain, but I felt confident in saying that this was the knowledge I used to create it.

The information and things seen by the Deep Sea Naga, the list of books studied, and the knowledge found... everything had been absorbed!

There wasn't much to do; I raised the cup and drank it in one gulp.

I was now accustomed to the madness, pain, and knowledge brought by potions and the life of the Beyonders.

I am a proud member of the Aurora Order, and I am the student of an Angel of the Mystery Pryer Pathway! Nothing could, and can, stop me!

And so I gained a new ability, Analysis. The ability to use the powers and abilities of any Beyonder... I had finally become a Sequence 6.
I had finally become a Polymath.