Mage? Magic Engineer!

Rorschach had returned to Bayern. He needed to report the events of the past few days to the other Great Mages.

The experimental Starships from beyond the sky had returned a number of Communication Balls. Cavendish was measuring their parameters according to the established experimental plan, preparing for the official voyage and observation of the Original Layer.

As for Rorschach’s gains... he was in the Boundary Land, studying the Double Serpent Staff.

After mastering Axiom Creation, the restriction preventing his physical body from entering the Boundary Land was practically gone. He could use the matter within the Boundary Land to reconstruct himself, and could even cross back into the Prime Material Realm.

And he was waiting for a god.

"You’ve already renounced Divinity once. Why do you still covet a Divine Artifact?" Hercules had come to him.

"What do you mean, covet?" Rorschach shot to his feet. "I worked hard for this. I should get a reward, right? Besides, you were the one who gave it to me in the first place."

"It was not a reward. The terms of our deal were fixed from the very beginning.

"My calculations were in error. I originally thought you would need the Double Serpent Staff’s assistance to pose a threat to the Wine God. Now I see it was an unnecessary measure."

He paused. "Why don’t we have a little contest? If you, holding the Double Serpent Staff, can defeat me, I have no problem letting you keep it."

Rorschach was tempted by the proposal, but he quickly dismissed the idea. "Putting aside whether I could beat you or not, if we fight here, I’m the one who’ll suffer."

The Tree of Law here is the most precious thing. It would be a total loss to destroy this place over a mere Magic Staff.

With that, he tossed the Double Serpent Staff to Hercules. "Here, take it back."

Rorschach’s straightforwardness was beyond the god’s expectations. He wasn’t confused, but simply extended an olive branch. "There is another way for you to obtain it. Are you willing to become a member of ’Thoth’?"

"I’ve been wanting to know for a while. What exactly is ’Thoth’? An organization?"

Hercules shook his head. "It is the name of a god, the one true Magic God. However, Primordial Thoth fell in ancient times. He had a friend who collected all of Thoth’s past Authority and Divine Power to resurrect the Divine Spirit.

"Of course, His power and status had been carved up by many other gods. To resurrect Him, His friend used many methods to make these Divine Spirits willingly or unwillingly share all their Authority and power. This allowed Thoth’s will to link with ours, existing within a shared divine consciousness.

"Since then, we can all call ourselves Thoth and borrow the power of other ’Thoths.’ However, we don’t do this unless absolutely necessary. The more power and Authority we share, the closer an individual becomes to Primordial Thoth, and they are eventually consumed by His will.

"Conversely, if you are willing to link your consciousness, you can share in a portion of Thoth’s power and status. It’s not even impossible for a weak mortal to become a god overnight.

"Some mortals can’t bear the power. They are only briefly elevated to a level they could never imagine, and then in an instant, their minds are flooded by Thoth’s consciousness. What follows is collapse and destruction.

"But some Great Mages and Divine Benefactors, through secret rituals and, most importantly, their own immense power, are qualified to maintain a degree of independence after linking. Then, they can receive Thoth’s acknowledgment and ascend to become a being known as a god."

"Is that what happened to Balan?"

"Yes and no. He was the Prophet of the Formless God from the very beginning, and the Formless God is an extremely powerful and relatively independent member of ’Thoth.’ Balan’s ascension was also due to His protection. However, that protection ended long ago."

As for the "invincible best bud" who could make so many Divine Spirits bow their heads and willingly or unwillingly sacrifice their independence to resurrect Thoth, Rorschach had a guess... no, he was certain.

Rorschach quickly reviewed His glorious deeds and came to a conclusion: ’The Master of Light and Order is such a magnificent bastard... a truly great god!’

’He’s the one who almost got me killed. More than once, it seems.’

As if reading his mind, Hercules immediately continued, "When you were ascending to Great Mage, you already rejected the Divinity bestowed by my Lord and completely destroyed that mirror double.

"No matter. Becoming a ’Thoth’ now is also a solid, viable path to godhood. Are you willing?

"You don’t need to worry about the will of ’Primordial Thoth’ taking over our bodies and Souls. He will only become a part of our subconscious. He will only manifest briefly when we overuse power that doesn’t belong to us or are unable to bear the status.

"I’m sure you would never fall to that state."

’Are you guys that short on people... or gods?’ Rorschach read a hint of urgency in Hercules’s eyes. The more he saw it, the more resolute he became. "I—re—fuse."

"You listened to my long explanation, only to reject a second path to godhood in the end?" Hercules’s gaze sharpened. He looked like a star salesman who’d just had the door slammed in his face, filled with unwillingness and a professional desire to win...

"I was just curious. If I had said I wasn’t interested from the start, would you have explained it in such detail?"

Finally, He shrugged in defeat. "Fine, since you insist. But there is one more thing."

"Go on," Rorschach said, his own expression turning serious as he saw the god’s demeanor change.

"Hasn’t a beverage named after me been selling very well in Valois these past few years? I was originally still in slumber. My Lord saw that my condition had improved and chose to awaken me."

He sketched a trail of light in the air, forming a simple image of the Double Serpent Staff. "Since that’s the case, how about using my Holy Emblem as its mark?

"That way, during the course of business transactions, I can harvest a bit of the Power of Faith."

The beverage that sold very well was, of course, the "Hercules Energy Potion," a massive hit that had been popular from the King’s era all the way to the point where every member of the National Guard had tried it.

"Although you mortals probably used that name to refer to a valiant Demigod, he has already been devoured by me, so the Power of Faith will only point to me. Let’s just consider it a deal between me and the owner. I can give him a commercial Protection, for example, making the glass bottles printed with the Holy Emblem harder to break..."

’That works too? Uh... I heard this Divine Spirit is also a god of commerce...’ Rorschach nodded. Only then did Hercules seem satisfied and prepared to leave.

Before leaving, He left one final sentence: "The revival of the Earth Mother Goddess is inevitable. You don’t have much time left."

After watching Him leave and confirming He was far from the Boundary Land, Rorschach extended his right hand and made a grasping motion.

The Transmuting Dust of the Boundary Land gathered in his hand, solidifying into the form of a second Double Serpent Staff.

There was another reason Rorschach had handed over the Divine Artifact so readily. As soon as he arrived in the Boundary Land, he had tried to register the prototype of the Double Serpent Staff into the Tree of Law and analyze it. To his surprise, he had succeeded.

Most of the Double Serpent Staff’s Authority could be replicated with Magic. The more important reason it was a Divine Artifact was its ability to draw power from Hercules. In other words, the staff was merely a "terminal." Even if Rorschach possessed it, he would still be "borrowing" power from that ’Thoth’.

After obtaining the prototype, he began to modify it. The Double Serpent Staff transformed, taking on the appearance of Rorschach’s original, old Magic Staff.

At the same time, the Tree of Law extended a trail of light and bound it to the staff.

Rorschach had drawn inspiration from the real thing, constructing a terminal that could better exert the power of the Tree of Law in the Prime Material Plane. The principle was similar to other Divine Artifacts.

’Time to return to the Prime Material Realm... Caroline must be worried about me.’ With that thought, Rorschach left his Axiom Creation avatar in the Boundary Land and returned his Spirit Body to himself.