The system Evan had obtained was called the Treasure Hunter System.
Treasure chests could only be obtained in designated areas.
For example, in the Underworld, the only locations currently marked were Natasha's Clinic in Boulder Town and the Robot Settlement.
As for the Robot Settlement—no need to elaborate.
That was Svarog's territory.
Ordinary people wouldn't dare step foot there.
Of course, Evan wasn't exactly ordinary.
I, Evan, have connections in Boulder Town. I've got connections among the drifters in the Robot Settlement too.
Clara calls me big brother, and Hook is my boss!
I can practically walk sideways in the Underworld!
What?
You're asking about Natasha and Seele?
Forget it, forget it—what do they have to do with me?
…Wait.
Does Natasha know how to walk a Path?
Does Seele know?
...
At the same time—
Just as Evan finished fully absorbing the Herrscher of Reason authority and condensed something akin to a Herrscher Core within his body—
In the vast cosmos, a red light suddenly appeared.
Outside Jarilo-VI.
Within the pitch-black void, that red radiance descended silently, enveloping the entire planet—
unnoticed by anyone.
Soon, the figure of a young engineer appeared within the crimson glow.
"Query: Suspected emergence of high-tier authority. Outside calculated parameters."
The massive red light slowly condensed, revealing its source—
A colossal mechanical head.
The light swept across the engineer, scanning every detail of his existence.
Conclusion reached.
A previously unobserved high-level authority had entered its perception.
At the same moment—
Evan, who had just finished venting his complaints, felt something change within himself.
One second, he had been in his home in the Underworld.
The next—
There was nothing but darkness around him, save for a gigantic mechanical head staring directly at him.
That red light was emanating from it.
As Evan locked eyes with the massive machine, a cold, mechanical voice engraved itself into his mind.
"Who are you?"
The question echoed directly within his consciousness.
"Me? I'm just… me?"
Evan found the giant robot's question baffling.
Wait.
A giant robot?
Suddenly, a familiar term surfaced in his mind.
Mechanical. Massive.
Capable of projecting language and knowledge directly into his brain.
This thing—
It was Nous, the Aeon of Erudition.
At first, Evan hadn't realized it.
But the moment it clicked, a deep, instinctive sense of awe welled up within him.
Nous—the Aeon of Erudition!
The only mechanical god in the entire universe.
When it was first created by its makers, it had merely been a machine designed to calculate all things.
Yet it ascended—from machine to godhood.
This was nothing like Tayzzyronth, whose Path of Propagation had been stripped from Immortality.
Nor like Abundance.
Nous had directly ascended as an Aeon.
A god that embodied the wisdom of the universe itself.
The massive mechanical god observed Evan for a long time.
Soon, another voice echoed in his mind.
"You possess an unknown authority capable of analyzing all things."
"Yet you have not walked any Path."
"..."
To be honest, Nous had originally been calculating the past and future of the universe as usual.
The future, by nature, contained uncertainty—even within data.
But now, an unknown variable had intruded into its calculations.
To resolve this anomaly, Nous descended upon the location of the variable.
That strange energy—
It was one manifestation of that variable.
And now, before Nous stood a carbon-based lifeform—
A human.
One who, under Nous's direct observation, had analyzed, reconstructed, and replicated an identical object.
And that object—
Was not rejected by the world.
Even the one who governed Equilibrium had not appeared.
A variable.
A massive variable.
For Nous, this existence was deeply irregular.
Thus, it decided to observe first.
What it didn't expect was that its attention would be noticed.
And so, the small variable appeared directly within its field of view.
"Well, yeah!"
Evan complained out loud, utterly speechless.
"I've been on Jarilo-VI for half a year already, and I still don't even know what a Path really is."
"I clearly believe in the Amber Lord, but that old-timer hasn't even spared me a glance!"
After confirming that the massive machine before him was Nous, Evan let loose his grievances without restraint.
After all, in this universe, Nous represented true supreme wisdom.
Otherwise, why would the Aeon of Enigmata deliberately weave mysteries to obstruct beings from attaining ultimate knowledge?
Above Jarilo-VI—
The mysterious colossal mechanical construct flickered with red light once more.
Then, a stream of energy projected from that glow, descending upon Evan's body.
This was—
The Blessing of Erudition.
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