Time Skip, Hidden Dangers in Backlund

In the next few days, aside from participating in some events organized by nobles, Julius stayed at home the whole time. It was not boring since there were Swain and the twins to accompany him.

His Earrings of Alzuhod had been upgraded to a full-pledged Grade 0 Artifact equivalent to a King of Angels in the Visionary Pathway. It has the abilities of all Characteristics, except the Uniqueness which is equivalent to a true god.

He has two new Personal Artifacts, the Watch of Stars, and the Trojan Gloves

The Watch of Stars has all abilities of a King of Angels in the Door Pathway, while the Trojan Gloves also has all abilities of a King of Angels in the Error Pathway. These two Personal Artifacts, like the Earring of Alzuhod do not possess the power of a Uniqueness. But still, it made Julius so strong, he can easily kill Sequence 2 angels even without his 'trial of omnipotence'!

It was already Thursday. A week has passed since his reincarnation. When Julius thinks about it, everything feels unreal. His life right now was so comfortable and relaxing compared to his previous life, and he was thankful for that.

Everything would be perfect if only this was a normal world where he only has to worry about aging. But no, in all worlds he had to reincarnate, he was thrown into this cosmos filled with corruption and madness.

Julius had nothing to say. He plans to use his 'trial of omnipotence' today to figure out a way to quickly increase his sequence. But based on what he has felt in the week of using the 'trial of omnipotence', there might be a loophole to skip acting, but it won't be an instantaneous one. Maybe he could use the ability of the Fool Pathway to 'wish' that he can digest his potion in a week or so.

As for him losing control, Julius did not even think about it. There was no worry at all that it might happen to him. Why? Because he already has an anchor! Anchor so strong it defies all odds.

His anchor is this 'knowledge of this world', that this world was once a story designed by Cuttlefish! This anchor pretty much secured Julius' advancement to higher sequences. There's nothing to worry about at all, aside from the Augustus Family whose king was trying to ascend towards the divine throne.

There was no rush about these matters. Julius communicated with Panatiya from time to time via the Slave Contract to ask for information about "His" plan for advancing to the Sequence 0: The Black Emperor. But nothing changed, everything proceeded just like in the story.

Julius leaned on the outdoor chair he usually spent his time on. His manor is located in a very good spot in Backlund. Despite the heavy fog that blocks that sunlight into Backlund, it was useless, because Julius had already used his Beyonder powers to make his life easier.

Using the power of the Watch of Stars, he traveled to a place where fresh air did exist. He stole the 'fresh air' using 'Theft' and with the power of a Planeswalker from the Watch of Stars, he froze the changes in the space around his manor. With these two powers supporting each of their authorities, Julius enjoyed a mouthful of fresh air.

As long as he's alive, his manor is definitely the most healthy space in Backlund!

He didn't have to worry about lung cancer anymore, nor did Swain and the twins. Most of them rarely went out anyways. The goods and sustenance were always delivered by one of the servants that did not live with them. Also, the batch of wine, Noir, had already arrived two days ago. Julius always carries a glass with him.

Now, only two weeks are left before Julius plans to join the Tarot Club. He was still thinking of whether to save Klein and Dunn. He was still conflicted about this, never reaching a final decision. So he could only wait and see.

The MI9 which his predecessor previously belonged to, contacted him from time to time, to ask about his situation. In a sense, he's still part of it, but he's status is pretty rare. He's in indefinite leave. The MI9 seemed to not want him advance any further to Sequence 5, so they put them on hold. After all, in the minds of higher-ups, what can a middle sequence beyonder do? Which is pretty dumb in Julius' opinion.

Of course that is his bias. His predecessor swore that he will not leak any information about MI9 and other matters before an angel. It was supposed to be a demigod, but an angel belonging to MI9 was coincidentally free at that time, thus it was "Him" who watched over his predecessor's contract.

Although, his predecessor is indeed too kind and had a sense of righteousness, their method of dealing with him just to prevent him from contacting matters of secrecy, that might cause his predecessor to revolt and betray them, was still dumb regardless of which angle he looks at. They could have just used a power of demigod on him to confuse him and let them work for them for free. Or to make things easier, they could have just erased him from the face of this planet!

Julius' felt that this matter had to do with his reincarnation, that the MI9 only put him on indefinite leave was because of Yan Zhong, not Julius Avane. It was pretty weird because things did not match up, yet he can't sense any external influence to his fate. It was as if his fate was not being controlled, but being attracted by something.

And the only explanation was the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence!

Julius suspects that it is related to a Sefirot. But as far as he is concerned, the Sefirot of Above the Sequence: The Anarchy is sealed away in the Western Continent, so how could that happen? So, he attributed it to other thing, his goldfinger. It might sound ridiculous but Julius thinks that his goldfinger might be a key to a Sefirot outside the confines of Original Creator.

But of course, everything is a guess and hypothesis. Right now, even if Julius want to use his 'trial of omnipotence' to investigate this matter, he still can't touch the realm of the True Gods, much less that of the Great Old Ones or possibly even the Oldest One!

...

Julius felt the excitement in his heart as he entered the wonderful state again. His level elevated to a level far higher than the True Gods. His senses expanded and covered the whole cosmos.

He quickly shrank it back and focused on his own body. He sensed the concept of 'digestion' and checked any loopholes to skip it. He found that he can indeed do it, but he will have to do it again after advancing to the next sequence.

What Julius wants is a permanent effect that will help him speed up his digestion. He could use the powers of Error Pathway to find a 'loophole' in the concept of digestion, but Julius did not like this idea. Despite having a powerful anchor, he felt that if his power of Error Pathway ever vanished, the digestions he skipped might all come back and bite him.

It was indeed a method of using a 'loophole' but this 'loophole' only exists because of the power from Error Pathway. This won't work because the spirituality from previous owners are still there. He shook his head and forcefully left the wonderful state.

There was still a full 10 seconds but he didn't care. He felt his senses bounce back to his body, and he hurriedly checked the quantum energy inside his body. He was experimenting whether it was possible to accumulate the duration so he can temporarily touch the level of the True Gods.

However, he found out that it wasn't feasible at all. The energy was still leaking despite his exit from that wonderful state.

'Damn.' Julius cursed as he hurriedly entered the wonderful state of his daily 'trial of omnipotence'. He did not hesitate to use the remaining time to extract every location of those 'hidden dangers in Backlund', so he could get rid of them. Then, as there was still a time, he tried to extract the location of Characteristics of the Sequence 5: Mentor of Disorder. But he run out of time.

He felt his senses bounce back to his body, as a helpless smile spreadout his face.

He felt pity but there was still a lot of days to come for him to fix his problem with digestion and finding a suitable subject to extract every information about the Black Emperor pathway.

Julius looked at the peaceful garden and pulled out the Watch of Stars. The Watch of Stars is the pocket watch he always used, but now it has been turned into a Personal Artifact.

He saw the time and knew that it was almost time for lunch. As if to prove that, Sera slowly approached him, "Master, lunch has been prepared."

Julius nodded, "Okay. Has Swain come back yet?"

Swain went out to conduct the monthly inspection in some of Julius' company whom he invested in quite a lot of money. So he was probably not going to come back till dinner. Still, Julius saw that Swain had left his precious glasses, he might come back for it.

Sera seemed to understand Julius. She shook her head, "Master, Peter took the glasses in stead of Sir Swain just a few minutes ago."

Peter is the driver of carriage. He was one of those who once lived with them, but now moved out because of his family. Still, he is very loyal to the Avanes, which Julius genuinely appreciated.

Julius understood and did not ask any further. He followed Sera into the dining room where Sara was waiting quietly. Luxurious foods were prepared on the table.

Julius sat on the main seat and began to eat, while being assisted by the twin sisters. He felt pretty satisfied by how the two assisted him every time he ate. He truly experienced the benefits of being a noble in this aristocratic era where they still existed.

As Julius wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, he suddenly stopped.

Huh? Now that I remember it, can't I just sneak a peek at the Card of Blasphemy: The Black Emperor in the exhibition hall that is currently closed?

Julius suddenly felt excited, 'That's right. There's still that way!' He doesn't plan to steal the Card of Blasphemy as Klein needs it in the future to pretend as a bigshot. But extracting information from it, then placing it back again seems to be alright.

'But is that specific diary in the exhibition hall now?' Julius pondered silently, as he watched the twin clean the table skillfully. He needs information, but then he could just go back if it wasn't there.