On the high ground, on an altar inlaid with eyeballs, arms, heads, and internal organs.
The deep blood-red light surged out like a tide, distorting into deformed tree-like shadows.
Amid the humming sound, human bones, candles, silver plates, gold boxes and other objects all vibrated as if they could scratch the spirits.
The people praying around them instinctively lowered their heads and prostrated themselves on the ground.
Then, a realization came into their minds at the same time:
"Raging sea, rocky island..."
…………
After seeing the ancient palace above the gray fog and feeling the slight tremor of the mysterious space, Klein felt that he had a deeper, invisible connection with the so-called "Source Castle" that was difficult to accurately grasp.
At this moment, he truly felt that the place would gradually belong to him.
In just a few seconds, all the abnormalities disappeared. Klein did not delay and asked the two puppets to put away the valuable items and destroy the rest. He then took out a paper figure and shook it casually.
With a snap, the paper figure ignited with red flames, and densely packed illusory wings grew behind it.
Klein was stunned. He didn't expect that the interference of a simple "paper substitute" would have a bit of the flavor of "Angel's Embrace".
He immediately grabbed the secret dolls Qiunas and Enuni, and with the help of "teleportation", disappeared on the reef island.
After traveling around several islands in the Sonia Sea and making a big detour, Klein finally returned to his residence in the East District of Backlund.
During this process, he used the qualitatively changed "paper man substitute" several times in succession to interfere with divination, prophecy, tracking and watching.
Phew, I didn't expect that it would really trigger changes in Sefirah Castle, and produce an unconcealable phenomenon... Fortunately, I was cautious enough and didn't let my guard down. If I had been promoted in Backlund or the surrounding areas, Amon and Zaratul would have "seen" me... Klein breathed a sigh of relief and walked four steps backwards, entering the gray fog and doing divination.
After confirming that his current situation was safe, he did not stop and immediately returned to the real world. With the help of meditation, he began to gather his scattered spirituality.
After completing this step, he took off his clothes, leaned back, fell on the bed, and fell asleep.
Normally, a "weird wizard" who successfully ascended to an "ancient scholar" would not be as exhausted as him, and would definitely have the energy to check his own condition. However, when Klein traveled through history, he relied on his own brand to trace back far in time, and relied on his own mastery of ancient secrets far beyond his current level, and rushed all the way to the beginning of the Second Age or the end of the First Age when the "Giant King's Court" was established.
This in itself is equivalent to digesting the potion.
After several hours of deep sleep, Klein slowly opened his eyes and woke up.
He fumbled to sit up, pulled a pillow under his back, raised his head and rubbed his forehead.
After more than ten minutes of relaxation, he was completely awake and began to examine himself:
"The potion was indeed digested almost immediately after taking it, at least four-fifths... This is pretty much what I expected... But I don't know how much more ancient information I need to obtain and how much real history I need to research before I can digest the rest...
"At present, it seems that there are two directions for the role of 'ancient scholar'. One is to be a scholar from ancient times, and the other is to be a scholar who studies ancient times. Both are required. The first point is relatively easy because the ceremony itself implies the key point of making oneself an ancient person. Once the promotion is successful, you can naturally play the role of a scholar from ancient times.
"The second point is very difficult. It's okay in a normal society, but in this world with true gods, demons, and evil, just collecting ancient materials is a risky thing. If you want to find out the truth of history, you may die miserably at any time for no reason. The more you know about the standards, the greater the danger...
"I know so much, mostly thanks to the arrangements of certain beings, and the complexity of fate brought by 'Source Castle', which makes me always encounter various things. Of course, even so, as a person favored by the true god, I have died once, let alone other 'ancient scholars'?
"If we swap the positions of 'Miracle Master' and 'Ancient Scholar', the roleplaying would be relatively simple. Unfortunately, there is no such if...
“In addition, the previous two meanings tended towards ‘ancient times’, and we should also pay attention to the word ‘scholar’. Only those who can study something from history can be called ‘scholars’.
"There are several directions to digest next. First, we need to figure out the current status of the Dark Angel Sasriel and truly restore the specific process of the Great Cataclysm. Second, we need to spend time to truly connect the history of the Fourth Epoch, not just limited to fragments. Third, we need to go deeper, from grasping the macroscopic status to studying the microscopic details, such as the rise and fall of the Antigonus family..."
After confirming that the role-playing was effective and considering the future path, Klein combined the mystical knowledge he gained from the promotion and the observation of his own divine patterns, relying on "divination" and practice, and gradually explored the ability of the "ancient scholar":
"The number of 'Spirit Worms' that can differentiate has reached 600, and the divine patterns have also changed to a certain extent, becoming more complex and more able to express concepts such as power, weirdness, and transcendence...
"The changes in the divine patterns are due to the newly acquired characteristics and the mystical knowledge contained in the potion. This is both the Beyonder's own characteristics and what they get from a higher level... After becoming a true high-ranking person, is it possible to directly modify the knowledge in a higher dimension and affect other Sequencers?
"Being able to decipher the potion formula from the divine pattern seems to be an example...
"Also, at the level of Sequence 3, the changes in the divine patterns are also affected by personal characteristics. This is closely related to prayer and response. For those who are all 'Ancient Scholars', the corresponding honorific names will be essentially different because their personalities, experiences, and characteristics are different.
"Well, I can let different 'Spirit Worms' listen to prayers instinctively and respond to them at a less complicated level without affecting my other actions at all... Specially marked and more complicated ones will be handed over to the main body...
"Ancient Scholar can use differentiated Spirit Worms to play the role of a god. How do Sequence 3s from other paths handle this? It's impossible for them to respond while sleeping...
"Haha, I'll think about my honorific title of 'ancient scholar' later, and study my specific abilities first.
"Uh... the main ability of 'Ancient Scholar' is to gain help from history, which is divided into two parts. One is to borrow strength from one's past self.
"For me, this is rather awkward and has no effect at the moment, because the me in the past was definitely weaker than the me now. Well, when I was hanging above the gray fog at the light gate, I was just an ordinary person... For those who used to be big shots but are now weak for various reasons, this is a magical skill. They can be babies, crying for ice cream, and participate in the battle of Sequence 1 at the same time. There is no weakness at all... The only problem is that it is not durable enough...
"Of course, as I become an 'Ancient Scholar' for a longer time, this will come into play. I can often borrow strength from my past self as an 'Ancient Scholar' so that I will never feel weak, even if I suffer a severe blow... To a certain extent, this is called eternal existence. There will never be a low point in my state until my spirituality is exhausted.
"Well, before my spiritual energy runs out, I can keep borrowing power from my past self. There is no limit to the number of times I can do so. And with my current spiritual energy, even without the recovery process, I can borrow power nearly ten times a day, each time for five minutes.
“The second part is to summon images from the gaps in history, which can be people or objects. The more detailed and realistic the understanding of the corresponding history and objects is, the greater the probability of success and the longer it can be maintained.
“Similarly, the lower the status of the target is, the greater the probability of success and the longer it will last.
“In addition, the closer the goal is to oneself, the higher the probability of success and the longer it can be maintained.
"These are the three conditions for success. Moreover, when summoning people and objects with higher status than oneself, even if one succeeds, the projection that comes out in the end will only have partial power and characteristics, and it cannot be complete. Also, the images I summoned from the historical pores can only maintain three at a time, including the ones summoned by the secret dolls...
“At present, even the most common items that I know well enough and that once belonged to me can only last for a quarter of an hour at most.
"The close relationship between the target and oneself is very interesting. In essence, borrowing power from oneself is also a kind of summoning image. It's just that the relationship between oneself and oneself is extremely close, so there is no possibility of failure. It is an extreme situation.
"In other words, if I want to summon the images of the great figures in the historical pores, it is best to establish a sufficiently friendly relationship with them and maintain it for a long time. Well, if I summon Mr. Azik's projection, the probability of success will definitely be higher than summoning the historical pore images of other angels...
"This is not an extraordinary ability, this is clearly "Emotional Intelligence", "Relationships" and "Interpersonal Communication"!"
While expressing his feelings, Klein sincerely felt that the core ability of the "Ancient Scholar" was a magical skill. After all, most of the things related to history and time were extremely magical.
However, in order to play a real role, one must be wise enough and make corresponding preparations.
This is an unchanging requirement of the "Fortune Teller" path.
"Well, when summoning images from the gaps in history, there is no dialogue or communication. In other words, the 'ancient scholars' cannot interfere with history or change the past. From the perspective of acting, this can be summarized as witnessing fate, influencing the present, and being unable to reverse the past...
"In addition to transferring diseases, wounds, curses, attacks, prophecies, and gazes, the 'Paper Doll Substitute' has an additional ability. It can transfer a part of the paper doll to the target, and make it function like a real one before the target finds out it's fake. Haha, if someone meets me in the brief moment when they lose their heart but their brain is still alive, I can give them a paper heart that draws power from history to beat and circulate blood...
"The initial control time of the 'Spirit Line' has been shortened to two seconds, and the complete transformation into a puppet takes ten seconds. The range of the above two operations is 500 meters... The limit of driving the secret puppet and exchanging positions is five kilometers...
"'Flame Jump' is also at 5 kilometers... The air shells can freely control their power, up to the equivalent of coastal defense artillery...
"It can transform into creatures with a size difference not exceeding a certain limit. Some of the simulated organs can function, while others are just for show...
"Huh, this is the 'Ancient Scholar', the 'Ancient Scholar' who has digested most of the potion..." After examining himself, Klein slowly stood up.
He was about to go above the gray fog to check the changes in Sefirah Castle.
PS: Extra update for the first place in October monthly ticket~