On the road in the dark woods, southwest of Tivian.
Two steeds pulled the black carriage forward, and Dorothea sat inside the carriage, taking out the crucial items she had prepared for a long time for her advancement: the holy emblems of the Pure Color Main Gods.
Among these five holy emblems, one made of paper stood out as particularly special and conspicuous.
Unlike the other four, this holy emblem, folded directly from a book page, was the holy emblem of 'Enlightenment' that Dorothea had personally made.
Making the holy emblem of 'Enlightenment' herself was an idea Dorothea came up with on a whim when she couldn't figure out where to get one.
Dorothea's search for holy emblems could be described as going from easy to difficult.
Initially, she found the holy emblems of "Light" and "Stone"; these two holy emblems had corresponding societies that were relatively cooperative, and she could obtain them simply by spending some money.
The societies corresponding to the subsequent "Cup" and "Silence" holy emblems were not as friendly or cooperative, but Dorothea still managed to acquire them after some effort and clever maneuvers.
For Dorothea, the difficulty of obtaining the later "Shadow" holy emblem increased sharply because there were no societies that could serve as a channel for obtaining it.
She couldn't buy it with money, and there was no target for her maneuvers.
Dorothea could only trace its whereabouts step by step through various subtle clues, finally getting a lead after several twists and turns.
If "Shadow" was so difficult, then "Enlightenment" was even more so.
Like "Shadow," there were no societal organizations for "Enlightenment" to serve as a contact channel.
Moreover, while "Shadow" at least had the crucial clue of the Mirror Moon Goddess, "Enlightenment" had pitifully few clues.
Dorothea didn't even know where to start looking for the holy emblem of "Enlightenment."
Dorothea faced many difficulties when searching for the "Shadow" holy emblem, so she often wondered what she would do when it came time to find the "Enlightenment" holy emblem.
Whenever she considered this problem, Dorothea couldn't help but feel a headache.
There were simply too few clues about the "Enlightenment" holy emblem; she didn't even know where to begin.
Thus, under the pressure of such confusion, Dorothea began to think of solutions, and the paper holy emblem she held was the result of one of her whimsical ideas.
From very early on, Dorothea had been wondering what exactly this "interface" system, as it called itself, was.
She had once organized the system's functions and found that it could primarily cleanse and identify toxins, acquire knowledge, listen to prayers, establish consultation channels, defend against divination, and so on…
Under Dorothea's observation and organization, she discovered that almost all of the system's functions were related to "information," and information was the primary expression of "Enlightenment" spirituality.
Therefore, the system might have a deep connection with "Enlightenment."
Additionally, this system could perceive the existence of divinity.
When Dorothea did something that could attract the attention of a divine being, it would even remind her, proving its extreme sensitivity to divinity.
Being able to clear the unique mind-toxin of this world and extract spirituality, and being sensitive to the divinity of this world's gods… these two points further proved that this system was very likely to have some deep connection with this world itself, and was not a pure outsider like Dorothea herself.
Capable of receiving prayers… sensitive to divinity… connected to this world itself… highly related to the spirituality of 'Enlightenment'…
Dorothea extracted and analyzed these various characteristics of the system, putting them together.
Looking at these traits, Dorothea couldn't help but conclude that her system might have some connection with the completely vanished, mysterious 'Enlightenment' deity.
After understanding this, Dorothea conducted an experiment.
This experiment involved praying to herself, and with the help of the system, she, using the fate of the 'Enlightenment' deity, imbued an object with the meaning of a holy emblem.
A holy emblem is a symbol of a deity, an item crafted by believers and then imbued with meaning by the deity.
Therefore, what is a holy emblem and what is not a holy emblem… these are all merely at the deity's whim.
As Dorothea thought, if the system truly possessed some qualities of the 'Enlightenment' deity as she had analyzed, then with its help… she should be able to create an 'Enlightenment' holy emblem herself.
With this idea in mind, Dorothea began her experiment.
She took a carriage to the street, personally went to a primary school, casually bought a few children's craft books, then quickly learned the techniques from them, and immediately folded a holy emblem from a torn book page.
Then she placed the holy emblem on the table and continuously prayed to the system in her heart, saying that this item was a holy emblem.
Afterward, something interesting happened.
After finishing her prayer, Dorothea used her spiritual vision to examine the paper holy emblem and found that it clearly had faint traces of "Enlightenment" spirituality.
These traces were the same as those on the other holy emblems Dorothea had obtained.
This imbued spiritual trace was purely "Enlightenment," signifying that it was a holy emblem given meaning by the Pure Color Main God of "Enlightenment."
Dorothea had given meaning to an object herself, creating a holy emblem.
From that moment on, the number of holy emblems Dorothea carried had always been five; what she needed for her advancement was actually only the sixth holy emblem, that of "Shadow."
'My deduction is correct… This system, which has been in my mind since I came to this world, has a profound connection with the 'Enlightenment' divinity of this world.
The truth behind this system is very likely the truth behind the 'Enlightenment' deity, and the truth behind this 'Enlightenment' deity should be the truth of my transmigration.
'It seems my transmigration to this world wasn't without reason.
It looks like I can add another goal: to figure out why exactly I transmigrated to this world.
From now on, exploring this path is also exploring the path of 'Enlightenment,' and coincidentally… this aligns with the path I am currently pursuing for advancement.
'It seems my exploration of the path of 'Enlightenment'… is not merely for becoming stronger, but also has the meaning of uncovering the truth of my transmigration.
'Now, this exploration should finally advance to the next level; it's time to advance to Chalk.'
In the shaking carriage, Dorothea looked at the five holy emblems in her hand, especially the "Enlightenment" holy emblem she had personally made, and quickly thought these thoughts.
After a brief recollection, Dorothea re-gripped the five holy emblems in her hand, then turned her head to look at the dark sky outside the carriage window.
There, Dorothea could feel the final piece of her advancement puzzle, the last "Shadow" holy emblem, being carried by the bird-shaped corpse puppet and rushing towards her, though its speed was quite concerning.
'Slow… too slow… Compared to that old guy, my bird corpse puppet's flying speed is too slow.
Now I'm about to be caught up by that guy; it's impossible for it to fly to me before he does…'
Through the spiritual threads, Dorothea sensed the bird corpse puppet still flying towards her in the sky, and thought with a furrowed brow and a grim heart.
Because of the obstruction of the iron grates in the ventilation shaft within the underground secret chamber earlier, her bird-shaped corpse puppet had not been able to transport the holy emblem out in time, which meant that the last emblem Dorothea needed for her advancement was still in transit, and at this speed, it would definitely not arrive in time.
'What to do? What to do? Is there any way to make the bird corpse puppet fly faster… If this continues, I'll be caught by that guy before I get the holy emblem…'
Dorothea thought anxiously in her mind, while in the distant sky, the rapidly flying Spiderfang Priest had already caught up with Dorothea's earlier-launched bird corpse puppet.
...
The Spiderfang Priest spread his dark wings, flying at high speed under the night sky.
His gaze was fixed forward, as if he could see an invisible thread connecting from his body to the distant horizon.
Following the guidance of this spiritual thread, the Spiderfang Priest flew rapidly towards the origin point from which the thread extended.
In just a few minutes, he would meet the puppet master who had once manipulated this spiritual thread.
Suddenly, during his flight, the Spiderfang Priest seemed to spot something.
He peered into the distance with his exceptionally keen night vision and found a bird flying strenuously in the same direction, not far below him.
Seeing this, the Spiderfang Priest unhesitatingly lowered his altitude, diving rapidly towards the bird below him.
In a very short time, he swooped down above the bird.
Dorothea sensed the approaching Spiderfang Priest from behind.
She immediately controlled the bird-shaped corpse puppet to plummet downwards, attempting to evade the rapidly approaching Spiderfang Priest, and when it got close to the ground, she directly dropped the holy emblem it was carrying in its mouth.
However, even so, the bird corpse puppet still couldn't escape.
The Spiderfang Priest rapidly flew in pursuit behind it, then stretched out his hand and grabbed the desperately flapping bird in his grasp.
Without saying much, the Spiderfang Priest squeezed his hand fiercely, directly crushing the bird corpse puppet in his hand, then scattered the remains to the ground.
Then, he suddenly flapped his wings, quickly gaining altitude, and continued flying towards Dorothea at an unchanged high speed.
His casual action just now directly declared that it would be impossible for Dorothea to obtain that holy emblem.
...
'This is bad…'
In the carriage, feeling the disconnection from the bird corpse puppet, Dorothea's face paled a few shades.
She had been preparing for an emergency advancement, but now she was missing a holy emblem, the conditions for advancement were incomplete, and the ritual could not be performed.
'It still took too much time to dismantle the iron grate… What was Ballett thinking, installing such sturdy grates in the ventilation shaft for no reason? Is he defending against some super rats?'
Seeing that the holy emblem's arrival was now impossible, Dorothea couldn't help but think resentfully, but she quickly stabilized her agitated emotions, forcing herself to calm down again.
'Hoo… calm down.
Now is not the time to complain or think about other miscellaneous things.
The key is to solve the problem… Think, what other methods can solve the problem now… What other ways are there to advance without that emblem…'
Taking a deep breath, Dorothea closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, using all her thoughts to ponder solutions to the current predicament in her mind.
She used her Scholar's ability to frantically sift through her memories, attempting to find some crucial information within them.
And just as Dorothea recalled the first time she saw the "Shadow" holy emblem, she suddenly opened her eyes.
The first time Dorothea saw the "Shadow" holy emblem, she found it unusually familiar.
Now, thinking carefully, she finally knew why the holy emblem looked familiar: because she herself was wearing something very similar.
Dorothea extended her left hand before her eyes, her gaze fixed on her index finger, where she wore the only keepsake left to her by her mother: the Ring of Obscurity.
The structure of the Ring of Obscurity was very simple: just a setting on the ring band, with a new moon imprinted with a simple pattern on the setting.
Dorothea hadn't paid much attention before, but now, looking closely, she discovered that the new moon on the Ring of Obscurity was identical to the new moon on the "Shadow" holy emblem.
The term "identical" here does not merely refer to a rough resemblance at first glance, but rather to an identical level of craftsmanship.
Dorothea, possessing the memory and information processing capabilities of a Scholar, could meticulously compare the new moon on the Ring of Obscurity before her with the new moon of the holy emblem's main body in her memory.
As a result, Dorothea found that these two new moons, whether in their patterns, their curvature, or their proportional construction, were absolutely identical!
The error between them could only be measured in millimeters.
The crescent moon motif is not uncommon in mystical items related to "Shadow," but there are slight differences among them.
However, the two crescent moons on this holy emblem and the ring look as if they were mass-produced from the same production line, with every detail being exactly alike!
To find the holy emblem, Dorothea had put in a great deal of effort and research.
She had read a secular book specifically about the holy emblems of the Radiance Church, which mentioned that "holy emblems" are items where meaning outweighs form.
A single badge is merely the basic form of a holy emblem.
Since not everyone likes to wear badges on their chests, for aesthetic reasons, these church holy emblems are often affixed to various other items, such as crowns, necklaces, gloves, staffs… and other personal belongings can all have holy emblems affixed, which naturally includes rings.
Dorothea's Ring of Obscurity, left by her mother, might have had a "Shadow" holy emblem affixed to it.
The "Shadow" holy emblem that Dorothea had painstakingly sought with all her might, perhaps, had been on her person from the very beginning.
What she thought was the last "Shadow" holy emblem she obtained might actually have been her first.
When the farm girl named Dorothea Maesforth was still in her carefree childhood, and before the soul from another world and the 'Enlightenment' system had transmigrated into her, merging with her dying residual soul, this holy emblem left by her mysterious mother was already on her.
"Heh… what a mysterious mother… I went through so much trouble, and it turns out this last crucial item was on me all along… This is truly… a strange feeling…"
Looking at the Ring of Obscurity on her hand, Dorothea couldn't help but smile wryly and shake her head.
If she had known this earlier, she wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble or take such great risks.
"You literally saved my life, Mom… It seems our family has some connection with that Lake Fairy, so what exactly is your true identity?
But no matter what… Gregory went down the path of'Shadow,' which in a sense, was the right path, wasn't it…?"
Dorothea continued to smile and thank her mother, whom she had no memory of, then she raised her hand to control the coachman corpse puppet to stop the carriage, and she herself opened the door and jumped out.
Outside the carriage, Dorothea took off her Ring of Obscurity and placed it in her right palm, alongside the other five holy emblems.
At this moment, Dorothea's six holy emblems were truly "gathered," and the final piece of her advancement puzzle was finally "completed."
Next, it was time for the ritual.
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