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As Rujilin’s Iron Fist was shaking off the dust in the maintenance shop, we were left in shock by the items delivered to our home on the morning of the third week of April.

“Bark! Bark!”

“What kind of animals are all these?”

“It’s pigeons! There’s even a puppy over there!”

Doctor was bustling around, carrying various cages and boxes filled with all sorts of animals like mice, dogs, and cats.

“Uncle, what’s all this?”

“They’re experimental animals! Can you help me a bit?”

While the Violets were neatly moving the things as instructed, the Eleventh Clone stepped forward to ask a question.

“Why do you need so many animals?”

Amidst the noise from the experimental animals, a single thread of doubt arose.

I looked at the doctor with suspicion.

I wondered why the professor and the doctor were conducting such experiments.

Their actions felt strangely familiar.

“Isn’t it familiar? They seem like people I’ve seen in research labs before.”

“Ah! Now that you mention it, their eyes and posture are kinda familiar?”

There was nothing malevolent or wicked about it.

When I occasionally visited the office to run coffee errands, I’d see the professor and doctor, deep in thought with numerous data and papers before them.

The atmosphere was that of seekers pursuing sacred knowledge.

It was distinctly different from the self-serving demeanor of Laplacian’s ponytail or the slicked-back-haired researchers.

But having burned down numerous research facilities by now, I could quickly recall a similar atmosphere at a place resembling the temporary violet lab set up in our house.

“The Magnavis research labs!”

Though the differences between our temporary lab at home and the sinister Magnavis, which harvested brains to connect them, were as vast as the heavens and the earth, there was one commonality between the two.

Beyond simply seeking knowledge, there was a will to solve some problems with that knowledge.

I wasn’t exactly sure what research they were conducting, but the attitudes of these researchers reminded me of treasure hunters sprawled out a map before them in a dungeon, racking their brains to find something.

What treasure was Doctor Yurik searching for?

I had heard that he was supposed to complete Professor Sturgis’ research or something along those lines.

At this rate, I felt I should ask, as he seemed like he might answer.

After all, I was the one providing the funds.

He said he would explain the research to me in detail later, but suddenly, my curiosity skyrocketed.

If he didn’t answer me, I’d have to cut off the funding.

“Uncle, do you want some coffee?”

“Oh, no thanks. I’ll brew it myself.”

As the warehouse door closed, the animals’ cries disappeared. Enrique, who had been devouring cereal from her bowl in the dining room, looked at the doctor and quietly slid to the side. Doctor Yurik was stirring coffee.

“Uncle, why are you researching me?”

“I mentioned it before. It’s curiosity as a scholar. Of course, there are other reasons, but I’m not certain about those yet…”

“I’m curious about that other reason!”

As Enrique looked on with a puzzled expression, I continued.

“You know I’m from a lab. I don’t understand theories or academia, but I recognize the vibe of researchers. Is there something you want to do with me?”

“That’s something I’ll discuss later. For now, when Professor Albert arrives—”

The doctor, holding his coffee cup, was suddenly blocked by the Eleventh Clone appearing right at the doorway.

The Eleventh Clone flicked her tongue.

“Hehe! Can’t get through!”

“The professor tells you to focus on studying first. Uncle, I saw that crazy lady Bernike when she first came in. She was super excited coming out of the office, already having a good understanding of my abilities before stepping in.”

Back then, I thought it was just the usual fuss of a mad scientist, but now, with the collective consciousness running, something felt off.

“There’s definitely something more. Whatever it is, it’s got that woman all hyped up. It’s not just studying—she’s making something?”

Whether the shock at our collective consciousness’s deduction got to him, Doctor Yurik’s eyes began to dart around.

He seemed so flustered that I remembered how he appeared the first day I had kidnapped him to check the Polaris Underground Facility.

“Hahaha…”

Seeing him chuckle in a deflated manner confirmed he felt the pinch. At this point, judging by his personality that I’d been observing, he was likely to spill the beans soon.

“There are two goals. One, I’ll explain later—”

The doctor slowly, but firmly, began to answer.

“To cut to the chase, Professor Albert and I are looking for a stable method to turn ordinary people into Awakened Ones.”

While that answer was somewhat unexpected…

“Really?”

The doctor, who had been smiling awkwardly, shrugged his shoulders and gestured for me to move aside.

“We should start with a discussion about my supervisor…”

**

Though awakenings have increased in modern times, the number of Awakened Ones is still low.

Few can recognize and freely handle magical power, and among those, exceptional talents are even rarer.

“Currently, there’s only two ways to awaken Ether power reliably: inheritance from parents, or waiting for an extremely rare accidental awakening.”

Contemporary Trist civilization is built upon haphazardly constructed shaky scientific techniques and poorly acquired Ether engineering.

It’s like a patient entrusting surgery to a medical equipment salesman and a nurse aide.

The two pillars sustaining civilization are, contrary to appearances, as fragile as a pilfered building constructed without reinforcement.

Any slight stimulus could collapse the entire structure.

In such critical moments, the essential presence for balance was the Awakened Ones.

Trist needed many combatants to fight monsters and to dispatch to dangerous locations like Erosion Zones and Dungeons.

Moreover, beyond just combat, there were surprisingly many fields requiring magical power.

For these reasons, the Federation, along with numerous clans and corporations, exerted all efforts to secure Awakened Ones.

Even if it meant resorting to somewhat dangerous and illegal measures.

“What about human experiments or drugs? The Awakening Inducers are sold by Laplacian and the foundations, right?”

In response to the Eleventh Clone’s question, Doctor Yurik showed a surprisingly firm negative attitude.

“Those are useless. I know because I’ve tried them.”

“Wait, you’ve tried them? That’s unexpected.”

“Back in the day, it was a trend to give the Awakening Inducer to the kids. A relative of mine was a hunter, so I asked for it, thinking the likelihood of awakening would be high.

…But I stopped when children started dying from strange surgeries in the classroom.”

In his childhood, reminiscing about the time when he idolized heroes, the doctor gave a bitter smile.

“Commercially available drugs only work for those with a high potential for awakening. People born to ordinary parents whose parents or grandparents are Awakened. Even that probability is pretty low. As for surgeries, I think you understand as well.”

The Violets quickly grasped the situation.

Because they had witnessed pitiful test subjects dying during surgeries at the laboratory.

Even they themselves barely crossed the threshold of a very low probability.

In their youth, Professor Sturgis had faced dilemma.

“The professor’s early research focused on one thing: how to transform an ordinary person into a superhuman capable of using Ether.”

There are, albeit rarely, those who suddenly awaken while leading an ordinary life.

“For example, like Miss Grace.”

“Right, Daphne was originally a Non-Awakened.”

Academia had induced one possibility based on these occurrences deductively.

While there was no unified commonality, these occurrences were sufficient to lead to a specific conclusion.

If you could meet the necessary conditions…

Ordinary people, distant from magical power, could become superhumans.

“Professor Sturgis proposed one method for this.”

Black letters written on the whiteboard.

“Consciousness expansion?”

“More accurately speaking, it should be referred to as enhancing awareness and cognitive abilities to align with magical power.”

The issue, however, was that the physiology and psyche of ordinary people were not optimized to recognize magical power.

“There are several markers distinguishing Non-Awakened from Awakened, and one of them is recognition of magical power. Borrowing Professor Albert’s analogy, ordinary people aren’t vessels for holding magical power. It’s due to the limitations of their minds.”

Ether is an extraterrestrial product entirely detached from humanity’s long biological evolution.

“In computer terms, it’s like trying to run programs written in entirely different operating systems and machine languages without being able to read them. If you want to write a program, something that acts as a compiler or emulator is needed.”

The network of collective consciousness began to paint a bigger picture.

I was now starting to grasp what destination the doctor was pointing towards.

“That’s recognition expansion. So how do we accomplish recognition expansion?”

“Through Ether waves, injecting the necessary ‘information.’ The mediums could be experimental magic, Ether wave generated during gate openings, direct exposure to high-density Ether environments, and using relics could also serve as methods. For example—”

“Like the Vision Prism?”

Doctor Yurik snapped his fingers with a smile.

“You got it right. Speaking of the Vision Prism, do you know what the problem with consciousness expansion is?”

Violet visualized the haunting image of the Federal army ghoul swaying in the dark alleyways of Vittorio Arcade.

“The intricate control is lacking!”

Violet was deep in thought, and the doctor picked up a rubber band from his desk, satisfied she understood the explanation.

“That’s correct. The most significant problem was the output control issue. We didn’t even know what the appropriate output should be, and the means to achieve it were either limited or too strong.

Most importantly, each individual’s constitution was different when it came to enduring the magical power required for cognitive expansion. All attempts made so far to forcibly expand personal cognitive ability ended up…”

Doctor Yurik gripped the rubber band forcefully to the point of causing strain.

The rubber band snapped.

“This resulted in outcomes like having your limbs burned out, turning into ghouls, or becoming paralyzed.”

“Sounds similar to what Lera did!”

“The professor examined all publicly available documents related to consciousness expansion, starting from the thesis he wrote during his graduate years. Despite trying every method I listed for expanding consciousness, all returned as failures. Other research institutions faced the same.

As they no longer saw visible results for their anticipated efforts, academia and companies researching cognitive expansion began to look at it with increasing skepticism.

What dealt a final blow to the research was Lumiknex and Laplacian.

As biological approaches yielded some results, public attention swung in that direction, burying Professor Sturgis’ claims.

“In the end, the young professor had no choice but to temporarily set aside research on awakening Non-Awakened individuals. Instead, he shifted the research route for recognition expansion.”

He judged that strengthening existing Awakened beings would be easier than transforming countless ordinary people into superhumans.

“That was the reason Valefor collaborated with the professor in research.”

Once the lengthy explanation finished, Violet felt bored but nonetheless became satisfied with having arrived at the destination.

Now it was time to get a definite answer.

“I get it. The core of your research is that I am the Vision Prism for recognition expansion, right?”

With Violet’s words, the atmosphere in the room subtly shifted.

Sensing the chilling air, Yurik carefully selected his words to respond.

There was no need to disturb the mind of this girl, who still bore the trauma of human experimentation.

“Simply put, that’s correct.”

“Why me, out of all people?”

“Because I can replicate a body with the same attributes as someone who can wield powers with limitless precision within the constraints of given magical power. I form a collective consciousness with vast information, enabling communication on a scale of thousands. Furthermore, I absorbed even extraterrestrial beings, merging them into myself.”

An impeccably precise ability to create a collective consciousness body with exactly the same attributes.

A vast amount of information needed to awaken an individual’s mind, essential for cognitive expansion.

A verified mind manipulation ability through apostolic erosion and fusion creature transformations.

“Also, because I’m human, I could potentially adjust for subtle differences between individuals. Once we complete our research…”

We could use the Violet Network to make all of humanity Awakened Ones.

“Wow…”

Once the story concluded, the Violets erupted in exclamations.

This unassuming uncle, who appeared to just be wandering around without trimming his beard, was hiding such a grand ambition.

“But, is there a reason you must do this?”

However, suddenly, Violet’s face turned sullen as if the question annoyed her.

As soon as Doctor Yurik noticed her reaction, he realized he had omitted something essential.

If the parties involved weren’t persuaded, this research would simply be a meaningless fantasy.

“So I have to help, right? That’s a bit bothersome…”

What would be the reason?

In Doctor Yurik Pereira’s mind, a storm of thoughts rushed through.

It was nothing short of tragic.

Once a respected and kind mentor, now stepping onto the path of corruption.

The girl before him was the creation his fallen mentor had desperately searched for in the latter years of his life, the answer he had once abandoned in his youth.

That was all he wanted: to complete what his mentor had failed to pursue correctly.

A bitter pang filled his heart.

Viewing the darkness of society that he had not witnessed in the university research lab.

Clans that seized power and wealth through strength, committing outrageous acts in the name of righteousness.

A weak and pitiful woman who had become an accomplice in crime while trailing the path of a researcher like himself.

On the day Magnavis was attacked, he had watched it live.

Innocent children horrifically abused, alongside the girl terrorist screaming before them.

-Look at that! They’re kids! Can’t you see they’re hurting? Don’t you know it hurts to get hit?

This world is broken.

‘If everyone could wield magical power, could those giant clans commit such atrocities?’

At that moment, his heart raced. A way to realize that seemingly absurd ideal had emerged.

Just as the white-haired woman had come to him one day like a fairy.

‘Let us change the world together.’

An opportunity to carve out a realm uncharted by any scholar, with his own hands.

‘Any sane person would not turn this down!’

If both plans succeed, the world would turn upside down.

A world where everyone becomes superhuman.

And above these superhumans would stand the hope of humanity that could confront the abyss of another realm.

There were so many things he wanted to say.

Honor and glory, hope. The power to overturn the frustrating affairs of the world.

He wished to see with his own eyes the ultimate conclusions of all his inquiries and the miracles that would follow them.

However, as he felt the burden of spilling all those inner feelings, Doctor Yurik decided to choose the simplest and clearest persuasive line.

“If this succeeds, we’ll be rich!”

“What?!”

“Just imagine. Hundreds, thousands… no, billions of people, right? If we were to awaken every single person in the world for just 100,000 credits each, the total amount would be astronomical. It would far surpass any of the top three clans or even most major corporations. We would become billionaires!”

As soon as money was mentioned, the Violet Network activated its collective consciousness at an unprecedented speed.

“Emergency Violet Meeting summoned! Gather immediately!”

After a five-minute marathon meeting, the Violet Parliament reached a unanimous conclusion.

“If we become billionaires, we could build our own city!”

“What’s a city? We’d have more than enough to set up independent military funds!”

“Let’s gorge ourselves on meat every single day!”

Violet steeled her resolve.

“Uncle! Is there anything else you need?”

“Uh, huh? What?”

“I’ll give you more money! Just tell me what you need! We’ll support you wholeheartedly!”

“Let’s get started quickly!”

“90:10! We get 90! You get 10!”

From that day forward, the Violet research began to gain momentum.

“What if we consume a person?”

“Erosion can definitely be avoided. That’s what the animal experiments are for.”

The Eleventh Clone thought. Since they were smart, they would surely find a way.

“But Uncle, what’s the other goal?”

“It’s confidential.”

“Ugh!”

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