--


    Contrary to his belief, Cedric wasn''t immediately needed in theb where the ''Test Subject,'' or the Squaler—as it''s mostmonly known—was.


    Much like others who just joined the team, he starts at the bottom floor, and he''s going to have to work his way up there.


    Of course, Cedric wasn''t an ordinary employee. It was already pretty much confirmed that his innate divine ability was a great asset to the team, so it wouldn''t take a long time before he eventually makes his way up there. Maybe he''d even be summoned there from time to time, simply because they need him.


    To work his way up there, Cedric needs to learn the fundamentals first, like how this team was founded, when it was founded, and who its founders are.


    Then, he''d have to start learning and memorizing the speech andnguage patterns of the void before moving on toplicated tasks like transcribing them into things, discovering how they reacted to other substances, especially ones thate from the Primordial Chaos, and many more.


    These were all necessary because the ''ult Decoding Team'' wasn''t founded to solelyprehend the void''snguage. It is made toprehend the void as a whole to create permanent solutions.


    Fortunately, if there''s one thing Cedric''s really good at, it would be studying. With how sharp his perception was and how broad his mental horizons were, everything was learning material to him. Therefore, learning and memorizing all the necessary information to bolster his fundamentals at his new workce was a breeze to him.


    By the end of his first day, there are only a few things he needs to remember, and he''s good to start transcribing materials.


    What makes it easier was the apparent excellence of his All Speak. Understanding thenguage of the void and making sense of them was effortless on his part.


    Actually, it''d be far more difficult for him to understand how exactly his mind was doing all of this. Because honestly, he doesn''t give it much input; his mind was doing the rest for him, and until now, he has yet to discover how exactly this divine ability of his works.


    But, he''s not in a hurry to understand this. He''s got time to explore on his own. Sure, he could ask for some clues and advice, but ultimately, what he learns on his own will always be better than what they could tell him.


    In the topic of being at his new workce, Cedric''s schedule was loose.@@novelbin@@


    He was only required to work for a total of 24 hours per week.


    Cedric was puzzled by this initially, because in his mind, it would make sense for them to force people to work overtime. After all, the team was a part of the Border Patrol Guardian Camp, and it is known to all that they''recking manpower.


    Willow exined this setting to him.


    The quality of Cedric''s ''All Speak'' ys a significant role behind his confusion. Because unlike his colleagues, Cedric doesn''t experience a heavy mental burden when he''s tranting the void''snguage; of course, this only applies to simple words. The clearer the message is, the more difficult and burdensome it bes.


    This is why Cedric could practically work twice or thrice the amountpared to his colleagues. His workload was enough to kill some of them. That''s why, to prevent them from losing more people, they minimized the work schedules. Of course, the higher your position was in the team, the longer your work schedule bes. After all, promotion within the team means that you''re skilled enough to get ess to new and moreplicated work.


    That, and there''s the matter of personal business. Everyone needs to cultivate at some point. Strength cannot be neglected at all, and breaks in between work are just as necessary as the work itself.


    That''s why the work schedules were loose.


    Well, this works just fine with him. While it was a shame to leave his work as a master smith and a medic, he can''tin. Especially since his new workce was far more generous than his old workbined. And with how easy it was for him and how loose his schedule was, plus the privileges it gave him, Cedric obviously prefers it to his previous ones.


    Speaking of privilege, Cedric has to move again...


    His residence was located deeper into the camp, closer to the Scarlet Division Wall, too.


    From the outside, it looks like an apartmentplex. But as he went inside his room, it became a small paradise. His new residence reminds him so much of his room within the Tower of Prodigies.


    Discover stories at empire


    They provided him with a pocket dimension suitable for his needs. There is a vi inside,plete with all his necessities and furniture. There is a climate mimicry environment formation in there that he could manipte at will and so much space to use.


    Moreover, there were doors leading to cultivation environments here. He could use all of them free of charge, too. It will stay like that so long as he continues to be a member of the ult Decoding Team.


    Cedric was also informed that he had gained ess to advanced resources—things that even cosmic-level experts desired. Of course, ess was just ess. They''re not giving him any for free. If he wants one, he has to pay merit points for it. But they''re all expensive. His little umtion is nowhere near enough to purchase even the mostmon item in that list.


    But it wasn''t a big deal to him. He had no business salivating over those resources at this stage anyway. He shouldn''t even have any ess to them just yet; it was only made possible because of his new status.


    What''s more important to him was the cultivation environments. With them, Cedric could elerate his mastery over theplete Cosmic Furnace Spell so that he could break through to the Transitional Realm sooner.


    Bing a member of the ult Decoding Team gives him another privilege that negates the mandated Void Walking Missions. Simply put, if he doesn''t want to go to the void, no one would bat an eye about it. He could even be promoted without going through all of that trouble.


    But Cedric was an overly optimistic fool. It''s already given that he would be dealing with matters concerning the void moving forward. And he wasn''t disillusioned that he''d never step into the void, ever again.


    He knew that he''d return there sooner orter. And if he''s still as weak as he was the first time, then he truly wouldn''t have anyone else to me other than himself for not working hard enough to be stronger.


    Cedric didn''t want to experience being a sitting duck in the void again. He wanted to be strong enough to contend with the malicious will of the void and fight for his life. That way, he can return in one piece to his family.


    **


    Inside a vast and mostly empty expanse of space, Cedric could be seen sitting cross-legged.


    His eyes were closed in concentration as several wisps of light danced around him, behaving like curious fireflies with varying colors.


    These wisps of light represent the five fundamental elements. Cedric''s mastery over them has reached a degree close to perfection, allowing him to disy this level of skill effortlessly.


    Cedric was also proficient enough with them that he could use every single one in refinement. This meant that his mastery over the Cosmic Furnace Spell has reached the minor achievement.


    Technically, this was already enough. Cedric could begin his breakthrough to refine his existence using the five elemental refinements a total of nine times, with each stage being more difficult and dangerous than thest.


    This will give him a small chance of entering the Cosmic Level of Life Evolution. And to most, this small chance is already plenty enough that they will be willing to risk it all.


    But for Cedric, it''s far from enough. There''s no way he''d be satisfied with just a small chance. He wants it to be guaranteed.


    Lightning, space, time, life, and death... these are the rest of thews he still needed to practice and masterpletely before he even thinks about starting his breakthrough.


    Cedric''s target was Lightning, Space, and Time Laws next. Life and Death are far too diverse andplicated, so he''s saving them forst.


    So far, his progress was promising. By the end of his second year here, he should have sufficient mastery over those three. But of course, he''s not gonna stop there. He aims for perfection at each step, so it''s expected that he will raise his mastery to the acme before moving on to Life and Death Laws.


    As for Karmic Laws...Cedric doesn''t even dare to seek it out. That''s the most fickle mistress out of any conceptws out there. It''lle to him if it wants to; otherwise, it''s best to not even think about it.


    All in all, Cedric''s progress wasn''t so bad. In fact, he''s much faster than others. And he''s doing all of it withoutpromising his duties.