After fooling around with The Herta for a while, Herman finally turned serious and spoke earnestly. "Herta, you've solved the Fourth Cosmic Conundrum of the universe—the Solitary Waves Theory. You've taken a great step forward on the Path of Erudition. The energy of the Path of Erudition within your body has already gathered!"
"And if nothing unexpected happens, you now qualify to join that club! If nothing unexpected happens... Nous' gaze has already fallen upon you!"
?!
The Herta blinked at his words. "I was completely focused before, writing the answer to the Solitary Waves Theory on my draft paper. I didn't notice anything. Let me sense it carefully now!"
As her voice fell, The Herta closed her eyes and began examining herself inwardly. Very quickly, she discovered that the amount of energy of the Path of Erudition her body could bear and absorb had indeed increased.
And it wasn't a slight increase...
It was a sharp surge—a massive explosion of growth!!
Moreover, she could sense that a gaze was fixed upon her. That gaze came from beyond the sky. If nothing unexpected had happened, it was exactly what Herman—the mysterious cheat—had described: the glance of an Aeon.
With that thought, The Herta raised her head.
In that instant, her consciousness entered the interstice of the Path... a place of dazzling and bizarre brilliance, where an incomparably massive pillar of light stood.
Within that pillar of light was an enormous astral computer.
More precisely, it was the ascended and elevated form of a astral computer—the Aeon of Erudition, Nous!
The moment The Herta laid eyes on Nous, she confirmed that this was the Aeon who had created the Path of Erudition—the supreme existence of the cosmos.
But...
Why did this Aeon look so much like a machine head without a body?
And would They truly invite her, as Herman had said, to join the Genius Society?
The Herta's thoughts raced wildly.
At this very moment, Nous, gazing at The Herta from within the interstice of the Path, observed her. A rapid red light flickered in Their gaze—They were calculating, and also puzzled.
According to Their calculations, The Herta would indeed unravel the secrets of the Solitary Waves Theory. Furthermore, she would one day use its answer to construct the Simulated Universe.
But the problem was—
It was too early.
According to the timeline within Their calculations, The Herta would reject the olive branch extended by Patavia, the scholar of the Intelligentsia Guild. She would then become mired in campus controversy, with countless students believing her to be arrogant.
Even the official authorities of The Blue would visit her several times to persuade her...
And only at the very end—before her senior year graduation—would The Herta finally prove her talent and solve the Solitary Waves Theory.
Yet now, she had solved it in her freshman year.
A full three years earlier than the moment in Their calculations.
How had The Herta done it?
Or rather—what unique variable had occurred during her research that lay beyond Their calculations?
Nous' thoughts spun rapidly. Yet even so, They could not deduce any trace of an anomalous variable. It was as if The Herta had truly been struck by sudden inspiration and unexpectedly advanced the discovery of the Solitary Waves Theory's secrets.
"..."
After a long silence, Nous ultimately extended an invitation to The Herta. Within Their CPU, a decision had already been made.
In the future, They would observe this unique genius more closely.
Perhaps this genius would create even more incredible things.
As a flash of red light flickered within Nous' true body, a golden invitation—exquisitely ornate and imbued with extraordinary presence—was sent into The Herta's hands.
The Herta focused her gaze and saw the bold words written upon it:
"Invitation to the Genius Society"
The Aeon of Erudition, Nous, hereby invites The Herta, who has solved the Solitary Waves Theory, to join the Genius Society as its 83rd Seat!
Upon joining... she may obtain one opportunity to pose a question to Nous!
So it really came. As expected, everything that mysterious fellow Herman said was true.
With that thought, The Herta wrote her name upon the invitation.
Thus, across the cosmos, figures such as Ruan Mei, Screwllum, Dr. Primitive, Polka Kakamond, and Zandar's segmented self Lygus all raised their heads and looked toward the starry sky.
They all realized that the Genius Society had welcomed a new existence—one who walked among the stars and transcended mortal wisdom.
The 83rd Seat—Herta!
She had solved the Fourth Cosmic Conundrum of the universe and thus joined the Society!
At once, many geniuses grew interested. After all, it was the Fourth Cosmic Conundrum—the Solitary Waves Theory. According to circulating information, solving this algorithm would allow one to determine whether the universe's future was fixed or chaotic.
Especially Polka Kakamond, the Fourth Seat of the Genius Society, known as the Lord of Silence. Possessing the Knowable Domain, she deeply wished to know whether the future of this universe was predetermined.
If it were fixed, she might be able to use the Knowable Domain to eliminate, in advance, those geniuses who would one day touch the unknowable.
...
Among the stars, major forces such as the Xianzhou Alliance, the Interastral Peace Corporation, the Family, and the Garden of Recollection all learned through various channels that the 83rd Seat of the Genius Society had been born.
Among them, the upper echelons of the Interastral Peace Corporation were the most excited. They wished to contact that genius as quickly as possible and vigorously attempt cooperation to develop more commercializable technologies...
Meanwhile, the memokeepers of the Garden of Recollection felt the greatest regret...
They regretted not recording the very moment when the 83rd Seat paid audience to the Aeon of Erudition, Nous!
All factions took action because of the birth of the 83rd genius.
Some employed divination!
Some performed calculations!
And of course, there was the most direct method—like the Interastral Peace Corporation—contacting Society members who had cooperative ties with them to inquire who the 83rd Seat was and what research achievement had earned Nous' invitation.
Through various calculations and intelligence gathering, the great powers of the cosmos soon learned that the 83rd Seat hailed from The Blue and had been invited for solving the Fourth Cosmic Conundrum—the Solitary Waves Theory!
This revelation shook the universe even further.
After all, according to the deductions of many geniuses, solving the Fourth Cosmic Conundrum—the Solitary Waves Theory—would reveal whether the universe's future was fixed or unfixed, and unveil the evolution of destiny itself!
Forces across the universe began to act.
The Interastral Peace Corporation in particular quickly discovered, through internal investigation, that Patavia, the scholar of the Intelligentsia Guild who maintained deep cooperation with the IPC, was currently on The Blue.
The Interastral Peace Corporation immediately issued a special task to Patavia. Completion of the task would grant full research funding for a large-scale scientific project!
The content of the task was simple: attempt to establish peaceful and equal contact with the 83rd Seat of the Genius Society—Herta—and seek cooperation.
In addition, the IPC stated within the task that if Madam Herta was willing to cooperate, the IPC would fully support her research.
Initial cooperation funds: 100 billion Credits!
—And as long as Madam Herta verbally agreed, the IPC would transfer the funds immediately!!