'The great soul... the origin of all spirits and where they ultimately return... Is this the god worshipped by the natives of the New World?'
Sitting in a secluded corner of the library, Dorothy read Kapak's reply and mused. Based on this description, if this great soul was truly a deity, perhaps it belonged to the "Silent" domain.
'Just listening to the description makes it sound very powerful, even more so than the Shining Light Church's Three Saints, the Gluttonous Wolf, or whatever else. But I don't know if this is true, or if it's just a false, boastful myth.'
Dorothy thought this, then picked up her pen again to ask Kapak some detailed questions about the great soul. The answer she received, however, was unexpected.
"I apologize, esteemed Scholar. I actually don't know much about the great soul. In our land, although all tribal members worship the great soul, the extent is not high. While the great soul holds a respected position, its importance within each tribe is not as high as the tribe's own Wilderness Spirit. The Shaman of the tribe generally does not hold rituals specifically targeting the great soul."
"To us ordinary tribal members, the great soul is very exalted, but not important. Other spirits are more closely related to our lives, so I don't know much..."
Looking at Kapak's reply, Dorothy's brows furrowed slightly. His words sparked a connection in her mind.
'Very exalted, but not important...? This feels a bit like the Radiant Savior compared to the Shining Light Church. The important figures in the Shining Light Church are the Three Saints; almost all major rituals and prayers revolve around the Three Saints. The Savior, as the source of the Three Saints, feels less present, almost like a background.'
Dorothy mused this, then didn't think further, instead chatting with Kapak about other matters.
In the subsequent exchange, Kapak shared some of his difficulties with Dorothy.
"Esteemed Scholar, to be honest with Captain, I very much want to acquire more knowledge to help my tribe, especially in the area of medicine. I have witnessed the wonders of the invaders' medicines, and now I long to master more knowledge related to medicine to help my people who are suffering from various ailments."
"However, what troubles me is that if I want to ask Aka for more knowledge, I also need to offer valuable knowledge in return. But unfortunately, the precious knowledge within the tribe is kept by the Shaman, and I currently do not have the right to access it."
Sitting in her seat, Dorothy couldn't help but stroke her chin as she looked at the logbook before her. Having understood Kapak's predicament, she began to think.
'This young man has a point. In tribes like this, traditional inherited knowledge is very precious. Without some status, you likely can't access it. And this young man's status in the tribe doesn't seem very high. It might take a long time for him to access the Shaman's precious knowledge. Perhaps I can give him a little help to raise his status within the tribe.'
Dorothy thought this. In her view, as long as Kapak could make a little more contribution to the tribe, perhaps he would have a better chance of accessing the tribe's inherited knowledge.
Thinking this, Dorothy picked up her pen and continued writing in the logbook.
"I can understand your difficulty, Kapak. I think I can help Captain with this matter. How about this, I can sacrifice the corresponding knowledge to Aka from my side without requesting a reward. I will pray to Aka to grant the reward I receive to you. You can pray to Aka and receive it in a couple of days."
After writing, Dorothy watched as the words before her gradually sank into the page. Before long, Kapak's slightly distorted, excited handwriting appeared again on Dorothy's paper.
"Really?! Thank you so much, Esteemed Scholar! I will remember Captain's kindness and will definitely repay Captain if I have the chance!"
Looking at the handwriting on the book, Dorothy could imagine Kapak's happy and excited state. Dorothy smiled slightly at this.
'To have a generous return, one needs to invest upfront. It is necessary to help that young man gain a higher status within the tribe, and this investment is nothing to me.'
Dorothy thought this. What Kapak wanted was some knowledge about medicine. Coincidentally, there was a medical department at Saint Crown University, and many medical books were stored in the library.
'For tribal people on the New World, some basic medical knowledge should be very effective, such as prevention of plague, prevention of parasites, how to correctly use various medicines and medical equipment, treatment of external injuries, simple surgery, etc... These are techniques that can improve people's survival rate in backward environments. And finding books about these techniques in this library shouldn't be difficult.'
Thinking this, Dorothy looked around, surveying the vast library with its spacious and bright interior and rows of neatly arranged bookshelves.
This was the library of the university in the capital of the Preet Kingdom. Its collection was astonishing, covering all aspects of the mundane world. It could be said that except for secret transmission, books on almost all other fields could be found here.
This was also why Dorothy liked to spend time in the library when she had nothing else to do, because much knowledge that wasn't secret transmission was also very useful. For example, last time she learned about civil engineering to command Corpse Puppets to clear ruins and excavate tunnels.
"Alright, alright~~ Now, let's quickly go find some medical books. Where was the medicine category again?"
Muttering to herself, Dorothy stood up from her seat, preparing to look for relevant books.
Just at this moment, the system's alert sounded in her mind.
'Warning, detecting information retrieval targeting the self... Warning, detecting information retrieval targeting the self. Estimated completion time is 97 seconds. Please prepare to respond.'
Hearing this sound, Dorothy froze for a moment, then frowned and sat back down. She had heard this kind of warning from the system once before in Igwinte, and she knew what it meant.
'This warning is... someone is divining about me? Who is it? Is it the An Yin Bureau? Or the Eight-Pointed Nest?'
Dorothy thought this in her mind. It was clear that her actions last time had caused quite a stir. Stopping the blasphemous ritual and killing a White Rank was enough to attract the high attention of relevant forces, enough to expend precious "enlightenment" resources for divination.
'It feels unlikely to be the An Yin Bureau... I didn't threaten them in any way, and they probably aren't very clear that the battle at the ritual site involved a White Rank. But the Eight-Pointed Nest is different; they clearly know they lost a White Rank combatant, and their important ritual was stopped. My hostility value with them is probably already very high.'
Dorothy analyzed this in her mind, but she didn't think further. For her, the more important thing at the moment was to deal with the divination.
'System, consume Spirituality, shield me from the retrieval.'
Dorothy silently said to the system. Fortunately, both her "Shadow" and "enlightenment" were currently abundant, so she wasn't too afraid of divination.
'This retrieval has been shielded...'
Along with the consumption of 1 "Shadow" and 1 "enlightenment" Spirituality, the system's voice came. Just as Dorothy was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the system's alert sounded again.
'Warning, detecting information retrieval targeting the self... Warning, detecting information retrieval targeting the self. Estimated completion time is 97 seconds. Please prepare to respond.'
The system's warning echoed in her mind like a broken record. Dorothy was slightly stunned, then couldn't help but speak.
'Oh, are they trying to challenge me now?'
...
Recently, my cousin is getting married, and there are many customs in a small place, so there are quite a few things to arrange together. I've started to be a bit busy recently, and updates will be affected to some extent. Sorry.
There should still be two updates today, possibly no updates or one update tomorrow, and I will try to resume the day after tomorrow. Please understand.