A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 16 The Extraordinary

".Is there no God in your world?"

Ankua's eye, hidden by his white hair, looked at Quinn.

There seemed to be a tiny light in the dark eyes.

"God~ is fake~ His three championships in his career, his honor~ are all mixed up~" Quinn sang the song inexplicably, he was drunk.

".What are you singing?" Ankua didn't understand Chinese.

"Ah, religious hymns from my world."

"Religion, yes. But God..." Quinn sat up straight and smiled noncommittally, "I don't think it exists anyway."

"Is that so?"

Ankuya stood up with his glass of wine, walked slowly to the window, and thought silently.

After opening the window, the evening breeze blew away the stuffy air in the room.

Only a few scattered lights remained on in the entire block, as few families could afford gas lamps. Beggars slept on both sides of the road, and only at night, when the apartment manager left work, would they avoid being driven away by people with crutches.

Among the beggars were foreigners who had fled the war, weak orcs who were discriminated against and could not find jobs, and even more men and women who had lost their limbs or were half-paralyzed by alchemical waste.
They are the dregs of this city, living on donations from various churches. The factory machinery never stops running for disabled workers, and insurance and parliament turn a blind eye to them. In Xicheng District, such beggars are everywhere.

But if you look up, you can see the glorious skyline disappearing on the top of the mountain. The airship transmission tower in Dongcheng District operates day and night, delivering delicacies and treasures from all over the world to the wealthy people living on the top of the mountain. The arcane light flashes continuously, and from a distance it looks like a blue neon.

Golden lights stand tall beneath the neon lights. The street lamps in Dongcheng District will stay on until six in the morning. Even if they illuminate the empty streets all night, not a single bit of gas will be used to keep warm for the poor beggars living halfway up the mountain or at the foot of the mountain.

The world has a clear distinction between high and low. Perhaps the only thing that the people on the mountain and at the foot of the mountain have in common is that the people living at both ends of the city have the same beliefs.

The gods treat the world equally. Everyone has the right to embrace faith. The church will not reject you because of poverty or wealth, just as the tithe paid to God will not be reduced by half a copper coin because of poverty or wealth.

"In our academy's view, gods are just another kind of human."

Ankuya's voice had a pleasant, lazy quality to it. He said indifferently, "Another kind. Even more powerful. A human who dominates certain laws of the world."

"Is the sun a human too?" Quinn asked.

Could that sun that stretches across the sky be a human?
"When one possesses the power worthy of being called a god, their form naturally transcends what mortals can comprehend." Ankua leaned against the windowsill with his back to Quinn. "But of all the gods, the Sun is the most powerful. He is beyond imagination."

".Powerful than the devil?" Quinn is a pure cyber fighting cricket enthusiast, and his favorite question is who will win between the Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire.

Ankua turned his head and gave Quinn a calm look.

Quinn shuddered for no apparent reason.

"You are from the hero's world, so I don't ask you to have any devout faith in His Majesty."

Ankuya said coldly, "But I hope the ignorance, arrogance, and betrayal of the heroes will not happen to you. If not, I will find you before then. You will experience unimaginable torture, you will writhe and beg, begging for mercy from death, and in the end, you will die like a puddle of mud, and your wish will be fulfilled."

"But when you wake up in the afterlife, you still won't find peace. Do you know why?"

Quinn blinked, "Why?"

"Because I will be waiting for you there. I will repeat it again and again until not a trace of your soul remains, until all you remember of this world is regret and pain." Ankua raised his glass to him, clinking it with an expressionless face. "I will never forgive betrayal. You won't be my enemy, right?"

"Yes, sir! Got it!" Quinn raised the bottle high. "I'm freaking saluting the Demon King. Loyalty! Unity! Your Majesty! Long live!!"

Ankuya drank the wine in one gulp, then let go and the glass fell out of the window.

"Praise the Demon King. And praise our brave warriors."

The sound of the broken wine glass woke up the beggar sleeping in the corner. He rubbed his eyes and found that the fragments were actually shining with moving light in the night. So the beggar quickly got up and picked them up piece by piece. A broken crystal glass, maybe he could exchange it for some breakfast money at the pawn shop?
"Where were we talking about? Oh, power."

Ankuya sat back on the sofa, slumped into his lazy state again, "Do you have any special skills?"

"Me?" Quinn thought for a moment. "Twenty-four years old, a corporate slave. I'm 183cm tall and weigh 74kg. I don't do any particular exercise, but I do play the piano, so my arms are pretty strong."

"Stop, stop—have you ever received any combat training? Swordsmanship? Fighting?" Ankua really couldn't stand his abstraction.

"No." Quinn spread his hands. "My world is very peaceful. Well, at least my country is very peaceful, so few people practice these things."

"Then I'll find you a teacher."

Ankuya's expression became more tired. "It seems that your only useful brain. If you want to kill the hero, relying on the power of the extraordinary is not enough. Every generation of heroes is a master of combat. You can't fall behind too much—"

"What exactly are these 'superhumans' you keep mentioning?" Quinn asked curiously.

This was the question he wanted to ask most. All anxiety came from weakness, and all fear came from the fear of insufficient firepower.

If he wants to survive in this world full of mysteries, or even get rid of the devil one day and find his way back to Earth on his own - then he needs strength and needs to become strong!
He had a hunch that perhaps the "supernormal" that Ankuya mentioned was the answer he was looking for.

"Most people will never come into contact with anything related to the supernatural in their entire lives. The government, the church, and even the Arcane Association are covering up the existence of supernatural beings, but..." Ankuya looked at Quinn leaning forward slightly and listening attentively, and deliberately paused to whet his appetite.

"Superhumans do exist."

"Humanity needs strength to combat the threats lurking beneath civilization. The Misty Sea, the North, the Abyss, the Demons. But humans are weak, and seeking power means they can only dance with death. Certain rituals passed down from the Age of Gods allow humans to coexist with certain extraordinary powers. In other words, they allow humans to accommodate the pollution that brings power."

"There are 21 such rituals in total, corresponding to 21 different paths of the 'Transcendent Sequence'."

Sequence? Quinn muttered to himself.

I seem to have heard this word somewhere.
Ankuya crossed his legs and said slowly:
"These sequences encompass the seven paths to priesthood possessed by the seven great orthodox religions. For example, the priest who nearly captured you today is a Sequence Nine of the Evangelical Path of the Church of Light: Light Chaser."

"Light Seekers can grant humans the power of light. Their eyes can see through emotions and darkness. In the sunlight, Light Seekers can also possess physical functions far beyond those of ordinary people."

Quinn thought of Father Maude's eyes. No wonder he was so sure I was lying.
It's like meeting Professor X in another world.

So, isn't supernatural power some kind of supernatural ability?

"Besides that, there are also the professional ranks established during the Age of Gods, including Knight, Ninja, Warrior, Archer, Thief, and Secret Envoy. These ranks were created for combat. The major churches also have many combat-class transcendents, who handle issues that the clergy can't. For example, the Inquisition of the Church of Light is primarily composed of combat-class transcendents."

Knight, Ninja, Warrior, Archer, Thief, and Emissary.
Quinn felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, but it was as if he was hearing about these professions for the first time. His mind was empty and he had no related memories.

"As for the last seven, just listen to them."

Ankuya said solemnly, "The last seven sequences were not born from the rituals of the Age of Gods. They are considered taboo, and even records are not allowed. They are extensions of the Abyss, so they are called the Abyssal Path."

"What is the Abyss?" Quinn was inexplicably terrified. "Is it related to the demons?"

"In the face of the corruption of the Abyss, humans and demons are no different. The end of these seven sequences is only destruction. Don't dwell on it. Knowledge of the Abyss is too dangerous for you right now. Even just thinking about it could lead to contamination. Just knowing that it exists is enough."

Quinn nodded obediently.

"So what sequence are you in?"

Ankuya chuckled softly, "I'm not a transcendent."

"You are not a superhuman?!" Quinn was shocked. What kind of commissioner of the Yingba School Affairs Department could suppress a superhuman charlatan with just his eyes?
"I am an arcanist."

Ankuya twirled the wand between his fingers. "Compared to the transcendental path, the power of the arcane is much safer. This world's power isn't limited to the transcendental sequence. There are things like arcane, demons, and spells. Rather, the transcendental sequence is a means humans have found to combat threats. All techniques, when refined to the highest level, are equal. There's no longer any distinction between strong and weak; it all comes down to personal choice."

Quinn has already started choosing a career.

"That's not right?" He counted. "You said there are twenty-one Transcendent Sequences in total, but even if you include the seven from the Abyssal Path, that's only twenty. Where's the other one?"

Ankua didn't answer.

He stood up, took his windbreaker from the clothes rack and walked towards the door.

"In a week, I will come to you with information about people suspected of being heroes. Remember to stay at home this week and read all the books I prepared for you."

"Also, you need to think about whether you want to become a transcendent—don't give me the answer now."

He glanced at Quinn, who had raised his hand violently, with a displeased look. "Becoming a Transcendent requires a ritual. And the mortality rate for the Sequence Nine ritual alone is as high as 50%. No one knows what it takes to become a Transcendent, so they can only gamble their lives."

"Moreover, once you become a transcendent, there's no turning back."

"Can't turn back?"

Ankua didn't explain much.

"You have a week to think about whether you need this power, even if the price is your life."

Quinn was silent.

"If your answer is no, then I will be responsible for killing the hero. You only need to find him. But if you really want power."

Ankua smiled slightly, "There is a path that is suitable for you."

"what?"

"The path of the brave beyond all destiny."

(End of this chapter)