Chapter 930
Pioneer Yulia
What surprised Eivass the most was that Yulia didn’t come to greet him when he returned to Avalon.
He even spent more than half a day in the Silver and Tin Hall, and Yulia still hadn’t shown up.
Was something wrong with her health? Or was she not on Glass Island? Or was she in a bad mood?
Eivass was quite worried for a moment.
Hearing Eivass’s question, Isabel shook her head, “She should be fine. Yulia is probably busy.”
“Busy?”
“Yes, she has a crucial experiment she’s been working on for a long time.”
Isabel also seemed a bit concerned, “Why don’t you go check on her? Yulia seems to have been stimulated by something… Ever since the Fallen Heavenly Envoy appeared, she’s barely left her room for the past half a month. We even have to deliver her food and water to her room.
I was worried about her before, so I visited her twice. She seemed to be inventing some kind of machine by herself… She didn’t seem to like me disturbing her. But I still have a priest check on her body every few days to prevent illness.
Since I couldn’t understand her invention, I specifically asked Master Nobel to take a look… He didn’t understand it either.”
“…Alright.”
Eivass felt a bit worried after hearing this, so he nodded in agreement, “Then I’ll go take a look.”
He walked in the direction of Yulia’s room according to his memory.
Only then did he realize that Yulia’s room had been transformed into a truly terrifying scale—her room had merged with four royal family members’ rooms, and its scale was even close to three times the size of Isabel’s room.
“…Yulia?”
Eivass knocked on the door but received no response. However, he could hear faint sounds from inside and see light seeping through. There was indeed someone there.
He used the key given by Isabel to open the door, but he didn’t see Yulia in the first room at all.
Although he wasn’t sure what experiment Yulia was conducting… if she were suddenly startled, it could also lead to the failure of her experiment.
Eivass didn’t want to ruin Yulia’s hard work or put her in any danger. Therefore, he used High-Tier Divine Art to conceal his footsteps and voice, and carefully pushed open the second door.
At that moment, he was stunned by the sight before him—
A huge brass machine stood in front of him, and Yulia was sitting in a corner, holding blueprints and contemplating something with great concentration.
Seeing that she wasn’t doing anything dangerous or critical, Eivass dared to speak, “Yuli?”
Upon hearing Eivass’s voice, Yulia froze for a moment.
She suddenly turned around and saw Eivass standing at the doorway.
“Brother!”
Yulia exclaimed excitedly, then carefully put the blueprints into a document bag before happily turning back and pouncing towards him.
Seeing Yulia’s reaction, the weight on Eivass’s heart finally lifted.
At least Yulia’s mental state was normal, and she didn’t seem to dislike him… That was good, that was good…
As Eivass hugged Yulia, he suddenly realized that the girl seemed to have grown taller and heavier.
When he used to hold Yulia in his arms, her head would usually rest against his stomach—by the way, Isabel’s head would be just below his chin, fitting perfectly when he looked up slightly.
But now, Yulia’s head could reach Eivass’s chest. She was probably only a few centimeters away from Isabel’s height.
It was only at this moment that Eivass remembered… his cute and sensible sister was only fifteen years old. Earlier, the Butterfly had absorbed too much nourishment as a Phantom Demon Egg. Now, the re-healthied Yulia was in a stage of rapid development.
“…You’ve grown up.”
Eivass stroked Yulia’s head with a mix of relief and a touch of sadness.
If it weren’t for all these messy troubles, he should have been living a simple yet fulfilling daily life at school, and he would have seen Yulia often. He wouldn’t have realized he hadn’t been home in a long time only after his child suddenly grew taller.
Yulia shook her head slightly and gently pressed her cheek against Eivass’s chest, breathing in his scent. Her warm breath permeated Eivass’s shirt and seeped into his skin.
Even without the special vision from his right eye, Eivass could sense Yulia’s fatigue.
—Fortunately, Eivass was no longer as powerless as he was a year ago.
He gently touched Yulia’s forehead, igniting his life force with Illuminate Spell and injecting it into Yulia. Her mental state improved at a visible rate.
Seeing Yulia regain her spirit, Eivass finally asked, “What are you doing, Yuli?”
“Doing new research.”
Yulia said, then suddenly asked, “Brother, what you said before… about giving Lily that ability, can you give it to me now?”
“Ah, of course.”
Eivass nodded, “I came here precisely to help you complete the ritual.”
He teased, “What? Didn’t you say you wanted to see your own strength? How come you’re not Fourth Tier yet?”
“…Because I realized that if I’m too weak, I’ll be a drag.”
Yulia responded seriously, “The Church’s warships were fighting at Star Antinomy before… it was because you thought my sister Isabel and I were there, right?
“Fortunately, we weren’t there, so nothing happened—but that means if we weren’t lucky, something could have happened. And to save us, even you might have been in danger…
“From that moment on, I realized that this world is no longer as peaceful as it was before. I need power now—”
Yulia’s voice was soft, but her expression was resolute, “At least the power to protect myself! Not to be a burden to others, nor to be someone who needs protection.”
Since a very young age, Yulia had possessed strong self-esteem.
Most people with an incurable “severe illness” like hers, and adopted by the Moriarty Family, would have probably given up and resigned themselves to their fate. Before Eivass awakened his past life memories and obtained the method for creating Great Sin Cards, the symptoms of the Phantom Demon Egg were basically incurable, and Yulia must have known this.
She had a serious illness, was almost constantly feverish… and knowing that there was no cure for her illness, that she could die at any moment; while already having all her material needs met, she still tried her best to learn new knowledge.
Because Yulia couldn’t accept being merely a pampered useless person.
Even if the knowledge she learned had no practical application, and her efforts were meaningless—she still refused to give up on “I am still trying.”
—If a person gives up on themselves, their soul will also fall.
“I understand.”
Eivass nodded seriously, “Then I will give you power.”
“…As for Fourth Tier.”
Yulia shook her head, “I’m actually already at the threshold of Fourth Tier.”
“Then why not advance?”
Eivass was somewhat confused, “For Alchemists of any school, the job change requirement for advancing to Fourth Tier should be ‘a household-name invention,’ right?
“To complete this step, you only need to leverage Isabel’s influence. Besides her scholarly side, the Hourglass also has a merchant side—completing this step through transactions is also allowed.”
Alchemy is a profession that purely requires spending money, and its advancement can be forcefully completed by spending money.
A “household-name invention” doesn’t necessarily have to be very useful or widely spread. It can even be completed simply by increasing publicity and forcefully promoting it—and this doesn’t count as exploiting a loophole; this is a legitimate advancement path of the Path of Balance.
This is also why the Royal Alchemical Association of Star Antinomy deeply cooperates with the royal family.
Whether it’s through prestige, invention, influence, money, or power… exchanging abilities in one dimension for benefits in another, thereby connecting all things—this is the Way of Balance.
“Because I want to complete the ‘Pioneer’ job change.”
Yulia’s thoughts were exceptionally clear, “My leveling speed will definitely be slower than yours, brother. If I don’t get a powerful profession, even with the power of the Butterfly, I will still be much weaker than you.”
“So what?”
Eivass felt helpless when he saw that Yulia’s goal was actually himself, “You just need to be yourself, you don’t have to be like me. No matter what your abilities are, you are still my sister.”
“It’s different.”
Yulia’s thoughts were calm and clear, “Brother is already the Eternal Pope and now wields the power of Avalon and the Church. His influence is immense throughout the world; even the Fallen Heavenly Envoy might not be able to defeat him.
“Yet, I don’t feel the slightest bit of pride from you, only the scent of heavy burden and fatigue… This means that even this level of power is still not enough.
“If we have to face other powerful enemies in the future, and even a strong individual like the Pope finds them troublesome, then if one’s strength is slightly weaker, they will still be a burden…
“Moreover, what I truly want is not just ‘not being a burden.’ I want to be genuinely helpful to you, brother—to achieve this, I must become a Pioneer.”
“But Pioneer…”
Eivass stopped short of finishing his sentence.
That was almost the most difficult profession to advance in in this world—far more difficult than Sin Scholar.
Before Fourth Tier, one must possess at least one “incredible and world-changing great invention.”
This means that if she cannot complete this invention… Yulia will have to suppress her urge to follow her Path and cannot advance.
Not only would that put immense pressure on her spirit, but the anxiety would also affect the invention itself…
“I have an idea.”
Yulia said, turning to look at the huge machine, “This is an old machine built using the discarded manuscripts of Mr. Babbage from decades ago…
“It’s called the Difference Engine. I plan to modify and optimize it.”
(End of Chapter)
