As they said, the greater the knowledge, the lower the head. Like a stalk of grain swaying in a golden field.
Turns out, humanity once had a figure that suppressed an entire era. This phrase was somewhat cliché, but Xander believed the savior deserved it.
Xander really wanted to read more, but when he entered the Ultimate Upheaval, which occurred approximately 2.3 billion years ago, he really couldn't hold on.
To be honest, if not for his intelligence enhanced by the system, he doesn't really want to read with his current baby physique. It was just too tiring!
Damn baby physique! It forced me to abandon intelligence and become one with a baby!
Xander resisted fiercely, but in the end, he could only say that he had tried his best, his head falling into the thick book. Before it fell, a big hand softly caught him.
"Indeed, no matter how smart, he was still just a baby of a few months old," An smiled with pride as he carefully picked up the exhausted Xander. He shared a look with Mimi, who also has the same look in her eyes.
"Don't worry. I would never push him into something he doesn't want to. I'll give him the best childhood he could've ever had."
Both of them strode into the cradle just right by their bedside. Mimi watched as An tucked Xander into the blanket, her eyes turning somewhat misty.
"An, you still keep the promise, right?"
An turned to look at his wife and embraced her gently, his bigger figure giving Mimi an unprecedented amount of security, "I'll keep it."
"We'll accompany Xander. I would not let it happen."
After that day, Xander became more diligent, whether in playing wildly, rolling like a pin, scaring bugs and insects to death, or reading relevant knowledge and books. He did them rigorously, diligently, and relentlessly.
His days were accompanied by his fierce mother who kept boasting about how bad she was when she was young and his father who kept reminiscing his days in high school where he dated at least a hundred girls.
It was also when Xander began to understand the greatest horror of this world.
The Ultimate Upheaval.
What made it considered by humanity as the greatest horror wasn't a disaster that transpired in that upheaval, but the very fact that in the period between 2.3 billion years ago and a hundred million years ago, not a single trace of history could be seen.
Not a single clue!
That's a whole 2.2 billion years after the Extraordinary Origin era. It was supposed to be filled with countless brilliant inventors and pioneers that surged humanity's civilization into a new level, countless forces with a multitude of cultures and teachings, along with peerless heroes and wise sages appearing everywhere.
But in reality, there was not a single detail at all.
Xander felt a great chill in his spine as he read it. If an irrelevant history in a hundred million years before the Extraordinary Origin era began was described in one or two sentences, no matter how long that history occurred, then the Ultimate Upheaval was filled with only one word.
Void.
A history spanned over 2.2 billion years, and it was just described in one word. The whole page in the history book was filled with nothing, with only one word etched there, forming an odd yet horrifying contrast to other pages.
The Ultimate Upheaval (2.3 billion years B.RC. — 90 million years B.RC.)
Void.
Xander blankly looked at the page.
Finally, he decided to end the reading session for today.
However, a memory was forever engraved on his mind.
The Ultimate Upheaval... What kind of horror that lurked behind this blank history that lasted over 2.2 billion years? What kind of thing could possibly hide such a great amount of history from humanity?
And what exactly happened a hundred million years ago that ended this horror?
Xander went to sleep with a multitude of thoughts, and he repeated his schedule daily.
In a blink of an eye, a year seamlessly passed by.
In a cozy two-stories house, a woman with wavy black hair hummed a soft tune as she kneaded the dough, her almond eyes intently staring at the dough. She was clearly an expert in this field.
The TV in the living room made the atmosphere more lively. Mimi expertly lifted the rubbery dough and put it in a pink basket, covering it with a napkin.
She heaved out a breath, swiping the sweat on her forehead with a tissue.
"Dinner's done. Now let's watch TV. That harlot Tenia will definitely get beaten!"
At the corner of the living room, where a small space was encompassed by bookshelves, Xander who was inside, now a year old, twitched his mouth. His mother really likes to watch those damn dramas.
Ever since Xander showed his love for reading, the couple had set up a special spot at the corner of the living room. All the bookshelves in the house were placed there, encompassing a small space where a fuzzy carpet along with comfy bean bags and multiple interesting trinkets were placed.
Xander was filled with unprecedented comfort. His parents really have taste!
At one year old, Xander looked like any other one year olds, but his golden eyes, inherited from his father, are much brighter than any child.
At the same time, his panel information underwent a huge change.
『Xander Sa』
Physique: 0.15
Intelligence: 11.32
Wisdom: 10.32
Energy: 0.15
11 points of Intelligence... For this past year, Xander tried to understand the underlying logic of the attributes shown in his personal information.
For example, what does 1 point of Intelligence exactly signify? Tenth of a normal person? Average intelligence? Or perhaps more than half of an average person?
After occasionally pondering about it this whole year and secretly writing multiple hypotheses using a stolen notebook he found on his father's worktable, Xander finally understood what these numbers represent.
He remembered how when his personal information appeared, everything else was shown as 0.01 points. Only Intelligence showed 1 point.
And he used to be a baby with a baby body and an adult intelligence.
So it could be inferred that 1 point of Intelligence is an Intelligence equal that of a normal adult. Well, Xander considered himself normal in his past life.
So one could now understand what his current personal information truly represented.
11 times the Intelligence of an average person! 10 times the Wisdom of an average person!
Xander also pondered deeply about the exact difference of these two attributes. Physique encompassed physical attributes as a whole, and he suspected that Energy encompassed everything regarding matters about the Extraordinary, which he could not access yet, not allowed by parents.
Why don't these two just... Combine? Like Strength, Stamina and Agility that were encompassed by a singular attribute, Physique?
Then, when he watched the news on TV, he immediately understood the reason why these two attributes cannot be combined.
The greater the Intelligence, the easier it is to process information and learn from it.
The greater the Wisdom, the greater the weight of knowledge became.
His intelligence allowed him to process the news systematically, easily inferring overlooked details, and allowing him to understand underlying words that everyone often overlooked.
His wisdom allowed him to understand why all of this happened, and how he could understand the nature of these incidents.
Regarding this, Xander could conclude:
Without Intelligence, one would be mediocre. Without Wisdom, one would not be able to survive.
Scientists are intelligent. Merchants are wise. Sages are intelligent and wise.
As for morals, well, that's an entirely different matter...
Xander scratched his head and closed the book in his hands.
To be honest, he felt like the fact that he could quantify Wisdom is a cheat in itself. How could something like this, which usually required years of experience and multiple trials and errors, could be so easily gained?
Xander sighed in melancholy, his head turning upward in a 45-degrees angle.
He also hated it sometimes. With Wisdom, he could also infer whether his parents were lying to him or not. Nothing major, just the fact that he could infer whether they were in the 'mood' or not.
That's why he said quantified Wisdom is in itself a cheat, because it literally encompassed everything.
"Tsk tsk, I feel like I'm not human anymore."
Xander, a one year old boy, rubbed his chin with a complex expression.
But right now, what he wanted to do most is to increase his Physique and Energy. No matter how intelligent or wise, he could easily get killed by a Calmos being with his current strength.
His Physique and Energy are at 0.15, which was literally less than one-fifth of a normal adult.
"Mother, can I go outside to play now?"
Mimi, who was watching her favourite drama while drinking her favourite coffee with her favourite mug, sighed helplessly as she looked at her child.
He was less than a meter tall, but his steps are steady, his eyes focused, and his every bit of contours controlled. He looked every bit like an adult.
His black hair was thick and neat, inheriting her hair perfectly. His golden eyes are wide yet steady and emitted a sense of brilliance, as if every knowledge was contained within.
Mimi shook her head. Her son was great, it's just that he likes to play a little bit too much...
No one would imagine that such a steady, mature, handsome child would still like to roll around the garden like a pin.
Xander: _(:3」∠)_
Indeed, excessive gifts have drawbacks, Mimi sighed in relief. Well, at least the drawback wasn't so bad.
Xander observed his mother's subconscious movements and his mouth twitched. Every time his parents showed a face of pity tinted with relief, he almost wanted to rebel.
I get it, I still rolled around and played wildly in the garden, but isn't that normal for my age? Why are you treating me differently?!
This is injustice!
"Alright, go ahead. There's a playground along the road. Just follow the signs, okay dear?" Mimi crouched and pecked his forehead lovingly.
Xander beamed, pumping his fists. This time, he wouldn't even let go of a dog!