Upper city of Igwynt, Southern Sunflower Street, atop an apartment building.
During the morning hours, Dorothy sat alone in her room. At the moment, she was the only one at home. Given what had happened last night, it was clear that Gregor wouldnāt be coming back anytime soon, granting her a rare moment of solitude.
Though, truth be told, considering how often Gregor had been caught in an endless cycle of overtime work lately, these moments werenāt all that rare for Dorothy.
Seated at her desk, Dorothy was deep in thought, contemplating the new deal Aldrich had proposed to her not long ago.
āAldrich wants me to take his side in the upcoming battle against his greatest enemy. In return, he promises to owe me a favorāone I can call upon whenever I need it in the futureā¦ā
āA favor, huhā¦ Such things are the most unpredictable. Their value can be immense or negligible, entirely dependent on the capability of the one who owes it.ā
āAldrich remains an enigma. I have no idea where his true limits lie. But considering that his enemies are deploying two Black-rank combatants as their vanguard, itās safe to assume he isnāt someone to be underestimated. If I use this favor wisely, it could end up being worth more than any amount of money.ā
āBut the catch isā¦ I have to take his side. That means making enemies of his adversaries. Iāll be putting myself at risk. Aldrich claims he has a 60% chance of winning this fight, but the reality is unknown. Facing off against one entity stronger than Black-rank, plus two Black-rank combatantsādo we really stand a chance?ā
Dorothy pondered this dilemma. Aldrich had refused to divulge further details until she agreed to help him, explaining that he could only share more intelligence with those who had confirmed their allegiance. It was a reasonable stanceāif she asked for all the information and then decided not to assist him, Aldrich would suffer a major loss.
She hadnāt given Aldrich an immediate answer, choosing instead to return home and carefully weigh the pros and cons before making her decision.
Yet, after more than an hour of deliberation, she was still unable to make up her mind.
"Ugh, this is toughā¦ Thinking about it is giving me a headache. Maybe I should take a break and read some mystical books to clear my mind."
Muttering to herself, Dorothy massaged her temples before pulling out two new books she had recently purchased from Aldrich, hoping that some reading might refresh her thoughts.
She reached for the first book on her desk. Its cover was a worn-out grayish-purple, far more tattered than any mystical book she had read before.
Opening the book, Dorothy began to read and was surprised to find that the content was of a type she had never encountered before.
It was a translationāa direct transcription of a text from another language into Pritt Common.
āA translated book? Now this is interestingā¦ā
Intrigued by this novel concept, Dorothy eagerly flipped through the pages, absorbing the knowledge within.
The authorās identity was unknown, but at the beginning of the book, he clarified his method: he was translating a text written in an ancient language called "Old Imperial," rendering it into Pritt Common. The chosen material for translation was an anonymous poem composed in Old Imperial.
The poem was a hymn of praise, recounting the great deeds of a certain king.
According to its verses, the world was once engulfed in darkness and chaos. Numerous evil gods roamed the land in physical form, leading their devoted followers in endless wars of conquest and destruction. Countless lives suffered under their reign, trapped in an existence of torment and despair.
Then, from among humanity, a mighty ruler known as the "King of Light" emerged. Possessing unparalleled strength, he led the oppressed in rebellion against the tyrannical deities. After forging powerful alliances, he ultimately defeated and banished the evil gods, establishing his own empire in their place.
The poem was not lengthy, and its content was highly condensed. Much of it consisted of elaborate praise and rhetorical embellishments, yielding little concrete information. Yet, it was enough to pique Dorothyās curiosity.
āThe King of Light? A mortal who rose up to fight against the evil gods in an age of darkness and chaos? This bears a striking resemblance to the myth of the Radiant Savior. And both titles are associated with ālightāācould there be a connection?ā
āButā¦ there are also differences. In the myths of the Radiant Church, the Radiant Savior is a divine being. He took pity on humanityās suffering at the hands of the evil gods and descended to save them, before returning to his celestial palace within the sun, leaving behind three incarnations to watch over the world.ā
āMeanwhile, in this poem, the King of Light is a mortalāone who rose from among humanity, united allies, and rebelled against the evil gods. Moreover, it mentions the establishment of an empire, something the Radiant Churchās mythology never alludes to.ā
Dorothy didnāt dwell too much on the identity of the so-called King of Light. Instead, she accessed her system to check what knowledge she had gained from reading the book.
To her surprise, the book granted her insight into two distinct subjects. The first was the poem itself. The second was an introductory understanding of Old Imperial.
"Oh? Just by reading this translation, Iāve gained a foundational grasp of Old Imperial? If I can find more texts like this, I might gradually master the languageā¦ and perhaps even use it to acquire new Dragon Shouts."
Recognizing the additional benefits, Dorothy decided to save the linguistic knowledge for later, aiming to fully master the language before utilizing it. Meanwhile, she extracted the poemās content as spirituality.
She accumulated 3 points of Lantern and 2 points of Revelation.
After finishing the first book, Dorothy set it aside and picked up the next one.
This one had a plain gray cover. Though covered in dust, it was in noticeably better condition than the previous book.
Flipping through its pages, Dorothy realized it was a research journalāan account detailing the process of creating spiritual constructs imbued with Stone essence. And the author? Aldrich himself.
In the journal, Aldrich stated that all Beyonders aligned with Stone, regardless of their rank, were deeply involved in constructing various formations and constructsāhimself included. The notebook chronicled his experiments and findings, seemingly from his younger years.
"Hahā¦ So the old man is showing off his youthful achievements, huh? Iām not attuned to Stone, so most of this research goes over my headā¦"
Chuckling inwardly, Dorothy continued reading until she came across an intriguing passage.
"Next, I need to inject a small amount of Revelation. While Revelation is difficult to acquire, my rank allows me to maintain a limited reserve of this precious spirituality."
Dorothyās eyes widened. She hadnāt expected that, aside from Stone spirituality, Aldrich also incorporated Revelation into his constructs.
More importantly, the journal explicitly stated that this Revelation did not come from storage itemsāit originated from within Aldrich himself!
This revelation meant one thing: Aldrichās auxiliary spirituality was Revelation. He was a Beyonder aligned with Stone as his primary spirituality and Revelation as his auxiliary!
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Dorothyās heart stirred. If Aldrich possessed an affinity for Revelation, then he likely held valuable information about this spiritualityāpotentially even knowledge about the advancement path for those attuned to it.
She might be able to obtain crucial clues for her own advancement!
"It seemsā¦ helping out the headmaster might not be a bad idea after all."
Murmuring to herself, Dorothy finally made up her mindāto accept Aldrichās offer in pursuit of knowledge about Revelation.
"Hahā¦ Selling me these specific booksādoes he already suspect that I have ties to Revelation? Giving me this journalā¦ Was it his way of saying, āIf you want more knowledge on Revelation, then come help meā?"
"Truly, a cunning old fox."
By the time she finished the second book, Dorothy had extracted 3 points of Stone and 3 points of Revelation.
Her current reserves stood at 15 points of Chalice, 8 points of Stone, 4 points of Lantern, 3 points of Shadow, 2 points of Silence, and 14 points of Revelation.
Of these, 5 Revelation points were blue-bar spirituality, while the remaining 9 were experience-bar spirituality. Two of the blue-bar points were still in the process of recovery.
With the books read, Dorothy leaned back in her chair, contemplating how to face the upcoming challenge.
"
Two Black-ranks, plus one being above Black-rankā¦ Just me and Aldrich? That doesnāt feel reassuring. Maybe I should try to recruit some helpā¦
"
With that thought in mind, she pulled out the magic box she had recently acquired, adjusted the size of its opening, and retrieved a bookāLiterary Sea Logbook.
Flipping through its pages, she found an entry from a past conversation with Vania.
Then, she picked up her pen and wrote,
"Are you there?"