Chapter 5: The Genius

Elijah Sarath, No. 56 of the Genius Club.

This guy is also a legend—he invented the Synesthesia Beacon.

After inventing it, he casually tossed it aside, and only after the Academy of Knowledge spent countless Amber Eons did they barely manage to replicate it.

Even so, the replica still differs from the original crafted by this genius in ways that remain irreproducible and unresolved.

He also invented the Genius Club invitation card, later adopted by the Academy of Knowledge.

Every member who joins the Genius Club receives one.

…

“Ding-ding-ding—”

He stared at the vibrating invitation message from the Genius Club invitation.

He blinked, linked his imaginary energy, and instantly knew who had sent the invitation through the card.

Without hesitation, Hermes began injecting imaginary energy at a specific frequency.

In an instant, after a flash of light, a teleportation wave appeared in his perception.

And swiftly, this teleportation wave formed a door before his eyes.

All he needed to do was gently push it open, and beyond lay the gathering place of the Genius Club.

Creak—

He pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Unlike the teleportation methods of the Expansion Faction, the Knowledge Faction’s teleportation seemed to have many distinct differences.

When he finally stood firmly on solid ground, Hermes saw before him a council table standing beneath a starry sky.

Data streams flashed rapidly through his eyes as he began to discern the underlying logic of this place.

It did not seem to exist within the conventional universe.

Whether it existed within the Quantum Sea or relied on dimensional technology remained unknown.

Looking up, several figures had already arrived.

Black Tower, dressed in Lolita attire, wearing a large magical hat.

Ruan Mei, radiating Eastern charm.

Screwgum, with a small mechanical head.

And…

A boy whose appearance seemed somewhat awkward—Stephen Lloyd!

“Hey! Hermes, No. 84! I thought Itachi weren’t coming this time!”

Black Tower, seeing the newcomer, sounded genuinely surprised.

Having grown accustomed to the eccentricities of Genius Club members, having two so normal here at once felt like winning the lottery!

“I was just wrapping up an experiment, that’s all—delayed me a bit.”

Hermes replied coolly: “I’d been lingering on the edge of Ix’s avatar. Even for me, caution was necessary—otherwise, I might have been dragged into the abyss of self-annihilation, which would’ve been troublesome.”

“Ix’s avatar?”

“Indeed a troublesome matter.”

The geniuses present all nodded slightly at this.

Even though Hermes’s words sounded arrogant within the universe,

for self-annihilators have always been a grave affliction across the cosmos, drifting ever further into nothingness until they became hopelessly lost in self-destruction.

But—

As geniuses standing at the apex of the universe, they naturally possessed means to anchor their own existence.

For them, as long as they didn’t sink deep into the vortex of self-annihilation, they still had ways to break free.

“Introduction: My name is Screwgum.”

“Genius Club #76.”

“Pleased to see Itachi here.”

The distinctive mechanical voice of the omnimachine emerged from Screwgum’s vocal organ.

Though Screwgum appeared cold and rigid, typical of an omnimachine,

Hermes could distinctly perceive a gentlemanly elegance emanating from this machine.

“Hello, I am Hermes.”

Without unnecessary pleasantries, Hermes replied succinctly.

All present were geniuses—no small talk was needed; a few brief words sufficed for mutual understanding.

Moreover, they required no excessive formalities.

After mutual introductions, they quickly turned to the matter at hand.

Soon, everyone began briefly describing their research directions.

“Research direction?”

Stephen Lloyd scratched the back of his head, troubled: “Actually, I just skimmed the mainstream sciences of the universe and made a few toys out of interest…”

After briefly introducing his small inventions, Stephen asked puzzled: “So how did the Academy of Knowledge just appear and send me an invitation…?”

“Aren’t these things easy to accomplish? Why go through the trouble of inviting me specifically?”

Though Stephen spoke lightly, if this remark spread, it could directly kill many renowned universal scientists.

Yet, in truth, the geniuses present found it perfectly reasonable.

Though many brilliant scholars pursued and longed for an invitation to the Genius Club,

the truth was precisely the opposite.

It was not that receiving the Genius Club’s invitation made one a genius.

Rather, because they were geniuses, the Genius Club came to invite them.

Whether or not they joined the Genius Club changed nothing about them.

It was not the Genius Club that granted them glory—it was their presence that continuously elevated the Genius Club’s prestige!

“To us, the Genius Club is simply this.”

Though Hermes, under his innate talent【heaven rewards diligence】, had become a genuine genius, he had once been a nameless wanderer and understood this deeply: “In my youth, I yearned for the stars, so I boarded the Starry Express and gazed upon the endless vistas of the universe…”

Hermes spoke with deep emotion of his past journey: “That was an era I still cherish. I once believed I would walk ever farther along the path of Expansion—but then, when I reached the threshold of an Envoy, Archivili’s fall took me utterly by surprise.”

“The path of Expansion fell silent. Coinciding with an accident in my homeland, I returned and spent considerable time developing a suitable planetary restoration technique for my home—thus truly stepping onto the path of Knowledge!”

“Until ten years ago, during my travels among the stars, I happened upon a civilization planet consumed by nothingness. Moved by it, I began dedicated research.”

“Ultimately, today, I naturally uncovered a glimpse of the essence of imaginary and quantum phenomena, and claimed my own unique Envoy Authority.”

Listening to Hermes’s journey, the geniuses present were deeply intrigued.

First walking the path of Expansion, nearly reaching its Envoy threshold, then switching to Knowledge?

No wonder it took Hermes so long to be invited into the Genius Club.

Paths between each other are separated by barriers.

In the universe, very few could walk multiple paths simultaneously, let alone reach the apex of more than one.

Stephen Lloyd truly deserved his title as a genius.

But Hermes was no less worthy.