”So, Arnold, what made you decide to get blessed and enter a pact with some sort of otherworldly being of the void that usually turns people insane merely by laying their eyes upon it?”

Jake had barely entered the sphere of metal and made his way to the mad scientist before he popped the question burning in his mind. He hadn’t even taken out the creepy cube yet. Jake had just been invited in by Arnold’s assistant and walked into his workshop asking about his Void God pal first-thing.

Arnold, to his credit, didn’t get fazed and didn’t even look up from his workbench as he answered: “By all estimates, being blessed by a god is superior to not being blessed by one, and the offered benefits outstripped all other offers at the time.”

It was the kind of answer Jake had expected, but he still pressed further. “But… have you seen this god?”

“Naturally,” Arnold nodded, still unbothered as his hands kept working.

“And? No comments on the appearance of a floating thing of infinite eyeballs?”

“The appearance of Oras shifts according to the observer,” Arnold shook his head. “I saw not an eye but a string of numbers. All perceptions one can have are related to the act of observing. You saw a representation of a visual organ while I saw a language able to relay what is observed.”

“Are you trying to tell me you see the world as being made up of numbers or what?” Jake asked further, wondering if Arnold thought he lived in a simulation or something.

“No. Just that all can be reduced to numbers. Even the system itself,” Arnold nonchalantly answered. He soon stopped his work and looked up at Jake. “I do not believe you have come here to discuss divine alignments?”

“No, I came to ask about something else… okay, just one more question, do you talk to Oras?” Jake couldn’t hold himself back from asking.

“Talk? No. Communicate? Yes. Conversation through spoken words such as the one we are having right now is a severely limited and highly inefficient way to relay information from one source to another. The communication thus happens through images, arrays, patterns, and formulas, which is far more efficient and helpful,” the scientist explained.

Jake couldn’t help but imagine the two biggest nerds in the multiverse talking with each other by using god damn formulas to spell out stuff. But… Jake began to understand how Arnold could deal with Oras. “Okay, final question. What is Oras to you?”

He had a hunch and wanted to confirm it.

“Unknown as of yet,” Arnold shrugged.

“What is your best guess?”

“Knowing when you don’t know something is knowledge in itself. I don’t need to guess when I know I can’t comprehend something yet. I still have many steps to understand before I can comprehend a being such as Oras, making my lack of comprehending the creature a natural conclusion,” Arnold answered. “The human mind is limited in scope, and we must accept there are some things we are not meant to understand. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t try to comprehend them and observe the impact they have on phenomena we can see. Through those observations and evolution brought upon us by the system, perhaps one day we can transcend our current limits. But that day has yet to come.”

Jake nodded along as he kind of got it. He remembered talking to an old acquaintance from school during a reunion who was studying physics at the time. The guy talked about quantum mechanics and how there were so many things we simply didn’t understand and concepts that just seemed beyond the human mind to comprehend.

Yet he also talked of tools to measure what these incomprehensible things did. He talked about how humans tried to make theories and formulas to explain what happened, even in situations where imagination had long conceded.

Jake didn’t really get it… but he did get the simplified explanation Arnold gave.

“Humans couldn’t see ultraviolet light before the system, yet we could make devices that could. We couldn’t see gravity, but we could measure what it did. That has changed now, as the body has evolved to, in many ways, become the best measuring device in existence and the mind the best computer to simulate hypotheses and confirm theory. I have already become able to understand flows of energy, comprehend patterns not understandable to the human mind before, and I am certain you are the same. Your senses now also encompass mana. You can feel the flow of energies within your own body, and even metaphysical concepts are now understandable – something we couldn’t even observe before the system. In due time, even a being like Oras will be understandable as our scopes expand.”

It was the most Jake had ever heard Arnold talk, and he actually heard some passion in his voice. Jake felt like he had gotten a far better understanding of Arnold during this brief talk and, in concert, also understood Oras a bit better.

Arnold was just a damn nerd, and Oras was a nerd-loving knowledge-seeker, AKA also a mega-nerd. Simple as that. At least, that is how Jake chose to summarize it.

“Anyway, I brought this for you,” Jake finally said as he pulled out the weird box the eldritch abomination of eyes had given him.

Arnold stared for a while as he asked. “I am uncertain why you brought me a barrel.”

Jake quickly reacted as he opened the barrel and pulled out the bundle of cloth containing the box. “I would advise you to close your eyes or something. Looking at this thing is highly unpleasant.”

He followed his own advice as he began unwrapping the bundle. Arnold reacted by taking out a pair of spectacles and putting those on. Jake was anticipating the man to fall over or grasp his head in pain when the box was revealed, but he just stood there and looked at it.

“Ah. A puzzle box. Thank you,” Arnold just said as he went over and took it off Jake’s hands. Jake himself just stood there with closed eyes as Arnold carried it over to a glass container and put it inside.

“I have contained it now,” Arnold said, making Jake open his eyes, and instinctively he looked towards the box.

He saw it clear as day as it was within a display case of sorts. It looked like only a thin layer of glass separated the cube and himself, yet he felt no headache but could inspect it freely. The box was just black without any patterns on it, and there were no shifting eyes or weird energy surrounding it. It was just a black box, with its only extraordinary feature being how black it was.

Jake kept staring at it a bit as he just put it out of his mind, seriously not wanting to bother with it anymore. “So, Primas.”

Arnold nodded as he moved his hand and a large screen appeared on one of the walls displaying a map. Jake instantly saw a few familiar markings on it. Haven, Skyggen, Sanctdomo, and several other cities he recognized were marked on it, as well as some noticeable landmarks such as the Insect Plains and the large mountain Jake had passed on the way to Skyggen, now dubbed the Frostpeak Mountain.

Waving his hand again, the scientist made a few areas light up. At the same time, the map drew attention to a small mark at the far side of it, right at the edge of a large mass of nothingness – the ocean, Jake assumed.

The lit-up areas were all on the way to this marking, and based on the distance, Jake saw it was about four times as far as his journey to Skyggen had been. Luckily there appeared to be other settlements along the way, but the final stretch looked like it had to be passed by foot.

“The highlighted areas are ones where the energy signatures corresponding to Primas have been detected. This indicates they either live there or have lived there previously. Based on the signals and times of death of the eagle Prima and the monkey you have slain previously, we have a rough estimate of this Prima energy half-life. Primas all give off unique energy, same as races such as humans or elementals of specific affinities,” Arnold explained.

Jake nodded along, knowing this already. Every single living thing had an energy signature entirely unique to themselves, but the same races also shared some common traits. This was all tied to Records, and needless to say, then all humans had the Records of being humans. In the same vein, all Primas had the Records of being Primas, making that the thing Jake would use to track them down.

“I have also marked zones with creatures of interest and the fastest routes to follow,” Arnold further explained.

Looking at the map and the level of detail, Jake couldn’t help but ask: “How did you map this? Satellites?”

“No. I have attempted launches, but the upper layers of the sky have proven impossible to break through with my current methods. Even that is secondary to making anything able to survive in space for a prolonged period without getting destroyed. This map was done with drones flying approximately ten kilometers in the air, just below the dense cover of clouds.”

“Must have been quite the operation,” Jake commented.

“An ongoing one,” Arnold just said as he motioned for Jake to follow. “I have also worked further on the requested weapon. However, as of yet, it isn’t ready.”

Arnold opened a container as a slick Nanoblade was revealed. It was just the blade, but Jake could practically feel the energy infused into it. It was as thin as ever too, and Jake wondered what it needed to be ready.

“The blade is mostly done, and the box you brought should help me finalize the product. We both share the fact that Perception is our primary stat, and I aim to infuse the Nanoblade with abilities taking advantage of that,” he explained.

Jake nodded along but suddenly got a very bad feeling when he heard Arnold mention the box. Wouldn’t that mean Jake would eventually run around with a cursed blade seeking to consume all of existence in one hand and a blade forged using methods passed down by some eldritch monstrosity in the other?

Actually, on second thought, that sounded pretty cool. “It looks damn impressive already. Keep up the good work, man.”

Arnold nodded as he handed Jake a tablet of sorts, not unlike one of the ones Arnold normally ran around with. “Within this tablet is general information of the areas you will encounter on your way, such as settlements and noteworthy territories of certain creatures. The map is naturally also included, and if you hold onto the tablet, it will track your location on said map. Any further questions?”

“Any advice on the journey?”

“Avoid the red zones or explore them carefully. Those are areas where I have detected C-grades,” Arnold answered, adding. “However, you will have to pass such an area to reach the port city. This place is known as the Grand Mangrove River, and it does contain Primas. Plural. However, I would suggest quickly passing as it also contains C-grades. Once more, plural. Flying over is not an option either. The reason for this should become rather obvious when you get near there.”

Jake checked the map and did notice a river-like area that seemed to cut through the terrain between the city closest to the port and the port itself.

“Got it. Do you need me to bring you fragments from Primas too?” Jake also asked. He hoped Carmen had all hers, as it could get a bit tight on time if he had to-

“No. I shall acquire all I need in cooperation with the City Lord,” he answered, shaking his head.

“Wait, Miranda got three already?” Jake asked, surprised. She hadn’t mentioned that even after they had spoken for so long. He knew Sylphie had two fragments, but that Miranda had three?

“No, we have four between us. The last two are already in progress of being acquired during this very moment,” Arnold just said, not explaining further on that topic. “Also, head towards the east for the Ambermill settlement. A powerful individual is currently passing through with an energy signature matching that of a member of Valhal. You intend to go with that woman, correct?”

To preserve his pride, Jake didn’t ask about the Prima fragments further. From the last sentence, he could also see Arnold really wanted him to leave by now, so Jake didn’t want to overstay his welcome more than necessary.

Once outside of the big metal dome, he met up with Sylphie again, who hadn’t wanted to go into the dome. Apparently, she had tried to sneak in and cause havoc in the past, and Arnold had somehow managed to throw her out using some built-in defenses, impressing Jake. He still got the feeling Sylphie could have broken out and caused destruction, but neither party wanted that. This had inadvertently led to Sylphie really disliking Arnold but also kind of respecting him.

Another reason she respected him was explained as he got outside and saw her. Jake found Sylphie eating out of the hand of Arnold’s assistant, who had kept an eye on her in a small building outside. Arnold was smart, after all, and knew bribery with food was a true and tested tactic when it came to placating powerful beasts.

“Sylphie, are you ready to head out?” he asked the hawk that was happily snacking away.

“Ree!” she answered with enthusiasm, flapping her wings. After a quick screech at Arnold’s assistant thanking her for the food, Sylphie flew up and landed on his head again.

“Arnold found Carmen, so how about we go meet her on the way?”

That got another happy flap from Sylphie as the man and bird headed towards this little place called Ambermill.

Once his visitor was gone, and he was alone, Arnold activated all of the interior barriers to seal off the dome. At the same time, the entire laboratory shifted as the sensitive devices were retracted into the walls, leaving only himself, a single worktable, and a display case with the gift from Oras within.

Bringing the case to the center of the room, Arnold activated a small laser and cut off the top of the light-refracting glass. Just a hole large enough to put a finger through would be enough. He moved back as he took out a chair and sat down in it as he risked losing his balance with what happened next.

On the ceiling, a single laser appeared and fired down onto the cube, and the very next moment, it was as if Arnold had been transported into an entirely different world. The light reflected off the cube distorted all senses and made him perceive reality as different from what it was. Yet even if it changed, a pattern remained.

As he sat there, finding himself surrounded by lights with millions of colors and shapes he did not even know the name of, he began to decipher whatever mystery his Patron god had left within the cube. It was the type of mystery that perhaps didn’t even have a solution, but merely attempting it would lead to newfound discoveries. Or, perhaps the conclusions would be based solely on the eye of the beholder.

Either way, there were patterns, and a theory adequately explaining this pattern could be made. There was meaning somewhere in the madness, and if there wasn’t, then Arnold would just have to refine his theory until it was correct anyway.

Such was his Path. There was always a pattern, always a formula to describe reality, always an answer. With the system, everything was possible, even understanding the system itself.