In this year and a half, Ian lived peacefully without leaving the perimeter of the Domain Mountain, the name of the location where the ruined palace he lived in was situated. Etri would appear frequently and spend hours talking, studying, or even cultivating her techniques nearby, simply for companionship. It didn't take long for a friendship to blossom between the two, making the passage of time lighter.
But not everything was perfect. Outside the Domain Mountain, in the territory of the Heli race, a political conflict was raging. On one side, two of the four main clans, Dark Castle and Great Rock, stood opposed to the Two Towers, while a fourth clan, the Silver Shield, remained undecided on the issue. The disagreement revolved around the failure of the Celestial Invocation. The former argued that the Incomplete God was impure and should be sacrificed to recover some of the losses they had suffered.
Every thousand years, the Heli race managed, with great effort and through taxes imposed on everyone, to gather enough energy for the Celestial Ritual, capable of bringing their God to the earth for a short period of one year. As the previous process resulted in a complete failure, hundreds of years of savings had been wasted. Who wouldn't be frustrated? According to some sages, if they used Ian's body as a catalyst, they could at least achieve the equivalent of three hundred years, and in seven hundred years, they would attempt to bring their Sovereign and be blessed.
The Two Towers defended the idea that, although the ritual had failed, there were many physical and aura similarities with the original, making it an "incomplete product." Perhaps, given enough time, it could revert to its ancestral form and reach its full potential. It would also be a desecration to attack the Divinity, even in its incomplete form. Obviously, Etri's strong influence weighed on the matter, as she was the daughter of the Patriarch and the most talented martial artist of the clan, as well as one of the four maidens of the Celestial Ritual.
The Heli God was named Hellgar and was a special type of fertility God capable of improving any lineage through direct descendants. This power was highly coveted by all the other races in Sombreal and a valuable bargaining chip for the nation, as Hellgar could mate with any species. Every ten thousand years, he would come to the surface and live for three hundred years, after which he would return to the heavens. It was also possible, with great effort, to artificially bring the entity for one year in a thousand-year cycle through the Celestial Ritual. To perform the invocation, four young maidens of great talent and an enormous amount of life energy, donated by generations of Helis, were required. Here, we can understand the disappointment they felt when they discovered the absence of our main character's phallus.
With the political tension and the division among the people, there was indeed a real threat to Ian's life, which was the main reason Etri didn't allow him to venture outside her domain. He understood and was secretly moved by the efforts the maiden was making on his behalf, even risking the position of her clan. Feelings of instability such as panic and fear were suppressed by the Blessing of the Soul's Constitution and quickly replaced by a sense of urgency and focus. Unbeknownst to him, he was becoming someone completely different.
As planned, Ian delved into the legacy of the Grand Master Librarian, which consisted of ten heavy books, each representing a level of the process, and three scrolls containing the blueprint, technical drawings, and recipes of important tools for the profession.
The name of the martial art practice was the Supreme Scholar Librarian, and it consisted of a tripartite cultivation technique where each level required understanding in three distinct spheres: memory, reasoning, and comprehension. Any layperson could say that this method was complex and difficult to assimilate, and it was a long and slow path to traverse. The core of the skill lay in increasing memory capacity, responsible for storing information, along with reasoning, which needed to operate at the speed of thought, and comprehension, which focused on transforming information into knowledge.
At level 1, it would be possible to achieve speed reading, promising an increase of up to three times in reading speed. Advanced memory would also enhance a person's capacity twofold. Finally, fast reasoning would triple the initial potential. And guess how to practice this? By studying! Realizing this, Ian couldn't help but smile as he looked at the other legacies.
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One week in, and Ian's cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds. According to Etri, he should be considered a born genius for this genre of martial arts. Even so, only 10% of the content of the basic manual had been mastered.
The explanation was simple: the Blessing of Infinite Learning allowed for greater speed, control, and limitless capacity. However, it was not a power of omnipotence where one could simply look at something and understand its most complex secrets. Cultivation was based on understanding and training. You could know the theory, but without practice, you would never become a good chess player (figuratively speaking). No pain, no gain.
The "old" Ian would probably have given up and lost focus upon realizing that, despite his advantages, progress would be slow. But his other blessing allowed him to maintain focus and stability, giving him greater control over his soul and thoughts.
Although his progress in the art of the Grand Master Librarian was at 10% of level 1, the same couldn't be said for the other areas of knowledge. He had completed level one in history, geography, chemistry, and biology. His capacity to learn information was even superior to higher stages of the Librarian's Dao.
More even days had passed, and he continued his consistent progress, reaching the 20% mark and completing another stage in biology and chemistry. At this point, he began to understand why he didn't have physiological needs such as going to the bathroom, sweating, hunger, thirst, and so on. In this world, there were species with extra organs that didn't exist on Earth, including a circulation system similar to blood but consisting of a type of pure energy, the internal energy meridians. Not all species or stages of evolution possessed the ability to live solely on this energy, but it seemed that Ian and the beings in Sombreal did (fortunately for him, as he didn't have a complete digestive system).
In addition to these discoveries, Ian realized that as his abilities increased, he could also recall memories from his time on Earth more clearly, remembering occasional moments he had forgotten.
If Ian continued in this manner, he would have access to the classes, books, magazines, and documentaries he had seen in his previous life.
"Where is she?" Ian wondered. The maiden hadn't returned, and this was the longest time they had been apart.
"Come to think of it, she seemed a bit strange..." Ian contemplated. He even considered secretly investigating the situation by venturing into the territory of the Helis and gathering information.
However, he quickly dismissed the idea. Ian had no means of transportation, and his mountain was at least 400 km away from the Two Towers clan. He could only patiently wait and hope for the best. Mentally noting it, he decided that when she returned, he would ask for a means of transportation as well as a cultivation method for strengthening the body, which was the specialty of her species.
Time passed—30%, 40%, 50%—almost a month, and just when his patience was wearing thin, he heard the sound of rocks being crushed. Shortly after, Etri's giant lizard appeared at the top and rushed into the courtyard, where Ian was sitting, reading a physics book. The side door opened, and a small young woman with slightly pale skin, black hair, and mysterious amethyst eyes calmly approached him.
"Better late than dead!" Ian exclaimed.
"Why would I be dead?" Etri frowned. Occasionally his pseudo-God came up with strange language expressions.
"It's an expression from my homeland. It means you took a long time to arrive."
"An expression from the Land of Gods?"
"You could say that..."
They caught up on things. First, Ian proudly showed his progress in martial arts and his studies in various sciences. He had reached the first level in history, philosophy, geography, politics, and the second level in physics, chemistry, and mathematics. The further he progressed in a discipline, the longer it took. He wouldn't have been able to continue his progress without the improvement of attributes provided by the Librarian's Dao, which also grew weekly.
Etri was surprised at his efficiency and nodded, the more he developed, the more secure he would be. She then touched on the issue that had caused her to stay away for so long. The Silver Shield clan made their decision conditional: an in-person evaluation of the half-god at the Heli Council. The council was made up of the patriarchs of all the families with seats and headed by the four largest clans. Their meeting place was the center of the territory, at the Palace of the God Hellgar, which, by the way, was supposed to be Ian's home, as well as his name.
"Now that you know our language and speak like one of us, the patriarchs will try to question you on various subjects to understand your situation and ours," Etri explained.
"When and how much should I be concerned?" Ian asked calmly.
"In a month. As for concern... a lot, because they are preparing the Sacrifice Act. Once they reach a resolution, you may be sentenced to death on the spot."
"Any strategy?" Ian strangely remained calm. He had already anticipated something of this sort, and if he managed to survive, he would keep the evil deeds of some individuals in mind. Who knew what great future had in store for him?
"You need to prove that you are Hellgar or at least someone as useful as him."
"I'll do my best."
Etri was moved by Ian's reaction—decisive, without complaints, and with a calm demeanor that inspired confidence. She knew that given enough time, he would surprise the world. She witnessed his attitude and rapid progress. Unfortunately, time was in short supply.
"Etri, I have two requests for you... I would like a fast mount, and a quality manual to guide me on the path of physical strengthening."
"Getting a mount will be difficult since it will draw attention from the council, considering my relationship with you. Everyone is watching me, which is one of the reasons I avoided coming here. But I'll do my best. As for the method, I can provide a copy of the main one from my family and personally guide you. I have one or two abilities in that area." Etri opened a broad smile, revealing her proud side. After all, she was a genius who appeared only once every thousand years or more in the Two Towers clan.
"I'm counting on you, Master!" Ian made a slight fist-crossed bow, which made his new master burst into laughter. The Helis didn't have many formalities between disciples and superiors.