"This is the ladder of the Extraordinary World, the cruel food chain, strength against strength, sword against sword."
Geoffrey released the chess piece in his hand, letting it fall onto the board, tumbling and crashing, making a complete mess of the board, with pieces lying horizontally, vertically, and rolling all over the place.
Bologue said nothing but kept staring at the chessboard. It was unclear what he was thinking, his hand squeezing the pawn piece, rubbing it fiercely, almost crushing it.
The chess piece stands lonely on one side, then advances with no way back, either dying on the path or reaching the base line, achieving the sacred "Ascension."
"Bologue, whether there’s new information about the Man-eater or the initiation of the implant ceremony, I will inform you."
Geoffrey made arrangements for the future and continued speaking.
"There are no tasks for you right now; you might as well go home and rest, relax your mind, and maintain a good state, which will help improve the success rate of the implant ceremony."
Bologue lifted his gaze, glanced at Geoffrey, placed the pawn piece down, and then sighed deeply.
"You’re right, impatience only leads to anxiety; I really might need a break."
A Condenser like Norm Ward is just the starting point of this Extraordinary Ladder, the most humble and lowest tier, while he himself has not yet stepped onto this Extraordinary Ladder.
No one knows what is truly hidden in Opus’s shadow. Bologue still remembers the forces opposing the Order Bureau mentioned earlier. They also have Condensers, and before formally confronting them, Bologue can’t know their Tier.
This world is millions of times larger than imagined, and at this moment, Bologue is still very weak.
"Oh, right, there’s one more thing." Geoffrey suddenly remembered something.
"Do you remember asking me about the Soul Shards before? Back then, you weren’t aware of the existence of Condensers, so I didn’t say much, but now it seems there might be another possibility."
Upon hearing Geoffrey say this, Bologue listened carefully. "Resurrection" has a definite source; only the mysterious absorption of shards is unclear to Bologue.
"Do you know of Ether?"
Geoffrey revealed that unfamiliar term.
Bologue shook his head, seeing this, Geoffrey continued.
"This is proposed by Alchemists. Initially, they believed everything in the world was composed of four elements: earth, water, air, and fire.
But later, with the evolution of Alchemy, someone introduced a new hypothetical element, believing that besides the four elements, there should be an element high above the sky.
This element high above the sky is called Ether, and Ether is hypothesized as power from the Secret Source."
Bologue whispered, the sacred "Secret Source," the source of all mysterious power, the endpoint where truth resides.
"Ether truly exists. It is the unknown force that fills the world, driving the energy of the Alchemy Matrix, and the release of the Condenser’s Secret Energy requires this omnipresent Ether, which some Alchemists believe is the material that constitutes the soul.
The soul is the purest form of Ether."
"Soul Shards are a form of pure Ether," Bologue said quietly.
"Exactly, but these are merely theories. The soul is mysterious and unfathomable, let alone the even harder to observe Soul Shards.
Currently, this knowledge comes from some Alchemists’ papers, but no one truly knows the facts."
Geoffrey explained, "I only noticed it because you’re so interested; if you want to know more, you can visit the library of the Order Bureau and borrow *Soul Science* and *Ethereal Theory*, but I feel you might find it tough to understand."
Bologue recalled the unknown strange feeling experienced when passing through the Key of the Crooked Path, the burst of power from the Shock Hammer, Norm releasing his Secret Energy...
Those inexplicable feelings all came from the surge of Ether.
"Ether is a very convenient power; some Condensers can operate on Ether beyond their Secret Energy, thus learning many techniques called ’Extreme Techniques.’"
Geoffrey looked at Bologue expectantly, "I think you’re quite gifted; learning Extreme Techniques should be quick for you."
"Extreme Techniques? What are those?" Bologue felt a peculiar sensation, as if he was about to receive an answer.
"Ether is an extremely convenient power. Besides driving Secret Energy, some people can directly drive Ether.
For example, making Ether fill the body, amplifying one’s strength; this Extreme Technique is called ’Ethereal Amplification.’ Apart from ’Ethereal Amplification,’ there are many other Extreme Techniques, but learning each is very difficult; a Condenser mastering any of them is considered gifted."
Geoffrey’s words instantly cleared Bologue’s confusion. He controlled his excited emotions to remain calm.
"However, for you, not yet a Condenser, it’s a bit premature; you have plenty of time to understand these in the future."
Geoffrey did not continue with the details, and the remaining Extreme Techniques were not fully discussed.
Bologue also nodded; he had obtained the information he wanted and shifted the topic to something else.
"However... Geoffrey, the implantation of the Alchemy Matrix should be a rather complex technique, requiring deep knowledge accumulation and immense resource supply. Does the Order Bureau hold such power to maintain the emergence of Condensers?