CHAPTER 74: BIT

"...Can I choose both, or just glance through... to compare and contrast," Zephyr asked with a demure smile.

Master Gregory chuckled. "Friend, you can’t understand half of what’s written past just the first few pages of either of them, talk less of the whole thing!" he shook his head in humor.

"Yeah, but maybe I might remember something later in the future after glancing at this," Zephyr said.

Master Gregory rubbed his chin. "Actually, it is possible to start down the path of the Ashworth Inheritance and switch after Tier 3 to the Cromwell path— the Path Of The Optimized," he mused. "It would be a tough switch, you’ll basically be starting a mana core design, only to change to something entirely different midway... you’ll have a hard time making things work, but I reckon it can be done," he analyzed. "Though you would end up being not as good as another awakened of the same mana node count who started down the Path Of The Optimized right from the onset," he said with a shake of his head. "There’s no benefit to doing that, except simply to experiment..."

Zephyr stared at the two books intently. The choice was obvious, but the smaller book still intrigued Zephyr. He really wanted to know what was written inside it.

"What’s the title for this inheritance?" He pointed at the smaller book.

"There’s no official title, but it’s a progression path that focuses on speed of processing rather than efficiency and optimization like the Cromwell Inheritance," Master Gregory said. "There’s only one Half-Exalted that follows this path..."

"Pascal?" Zephyr asked with confidence.

"Yes. You’ve met him?" He asked, and Zephyr nodded.

"He adamantly headed down this path, but rather than trying to switch to the Cromwell Inheritance, he chose to forge his own path forward based on the vague descriptions left in the book," Master Gregory explained. "So far he has been able to progress to Tier 4, but even still, I wouldn’t recommend you follow in his footsteps," he warned. "Who knows what complications lay ahead of him."

Zephyr looked between both books, throwing his curiosity aside. He went with the safer choice. The reality was that he only needed something to run by Aegis to get a full picture of how progression paths worked in comparison to the methods of processing that Aegis was aware of.

Having a more complete pathway to decipher meant the results would be even more precise.

"I’ll pick the Cromwell Inheritance." Zephyr said firmly.

"Excellent choice," Master Gregory patted Zephyr’s back excitedly. "For a second there I thought we’d have another Pascal," he laughed. "With your single node too? You’d have crippled your progression path instantly," he guffawed.

Master Gregory carried the Ashworth Inheritance back to its place in the library and came back to meet Zephyr. "Okay. You can only come in here to read the manual, but never can you take it out. You can’t even copy the contents," Master Gregory warned. "Everything you do will be in here, and you will be checked regularly before you leave... just in case."

Zephyr nodded. "Sure. I have no problem with that." The rule was basically useless to him. With his enhanced memory capabilities, even disregarding Aegis, he could leave the library after reading and still precisely copy out at least six pages worth of content. But he had Aegis, so he didn’t need to do that.

"Can I start?" Zephyr asked hesitantly when nobody said anything, only watching.

"Of course, friend!" Master Gregory laughed, smacking Zephyr on the back. "Best make the most of the rest of the day," he implored. "The concepts in this book are going to humble you," he harrumphed. "But if you don’t understand something, just call for me," he said, beating his chest. "I’m right here to help!"

"Thank you Master Gregory," Zephyr laughingly said, humoring the overenthusiastic old man. He nodded at the bald butler man who stood rigid and composed right next to the stairway all through their conversation.

As he carried the book to a secluded seat in a corner of the library, he noticed another old lady sitting not far away at a desk. ’Huh. So there are two librarians here. One a Half-Exalted, and the other a native.’ Zephyr noted the evident scales on her body.

He brought his attention back to the book eagerly , opening it up with care. On the first page, an excerpt was written right at the center.

As we blindly forge a path forward towards origin, a truth, echoing from every mana node insists itself. Optimization is key! All else is mere noise and chaos! Only through absolute and precise command over the processing of spells is genuine power attained. Thus, only one true path remains... The Path Of The Optimized.

"That’s... a very certain statement..." Zephyr muttered with a shake of his head. "The speaker seemed to have absolute confidence in his words, but surprisingly there was no attribution to the quote."

Zephyr flipped to the next page which delved directly into the instructions without any other preamble.

Word 1 - Quanta.

The first step to gaining conscious control of the mana processing capabilities of the mana nodes begins by comprehending the word - Quanta.

Why begin here? Because the Quanta is the most basic unit of mana—the simplest declaration of its presence or absence within an environment. It is the faintest tremor of intention, the single spark of directed energy. Without recognizing, controlling, and manipulating these individual declarations, all higher forms of spell-processing remain impossible. You cannot compose a symphony without first understanding a single note, nor build a fortress without the single, first brick.

The Quanta exists in one of two states- Present or Not Present. Active or Inactive. Yes or No. 1 or 0.

This seemingly simple contrasting logic guides every basic and grand spell alike. It is the breath in the lungs of every processing spell, the ’on’ or ’off’ state that differentiates between creation and void. To understand the Quanta is to understand the first whisper of control over mana itself. It is the very first step on the path of the optimized.

Bit, Aegis pointed out to Zephyr. In other words, a Quanta is the direct equivalent to a Bit in computing.