Chapter 253

Chapter 240 Retrieval

‘The Great Soul… The origin and ultimate return of all souls… Is this the deity worshipped by the indigenous people of the New World?’

Sitting in a secluded corner of the library, Dorothy pondered as she read Kapak’s reply. From this description alone, if the Great Soul were indeed a deity, it might belong to the domain of ‘Silence’.

‘If judged solely by the description, it seems very powerful, even more so than the Radiant Three Saints or the Gluttonous Wolf. But I’m not sure if this is true; it could just be an exaggerated myth.’

Dorothy thought to herself, then continued writing to Kapak, asking for more detailed information about the Great Soul. However, the response she received was unexpected.

“I apologize, esteemed Scholar. I know little about the Great Soul. Although all our tribes worship the Great Soul, the devotion is not high. The Great Soul holds a revered position but is not as important in each tribe as their own Wilderness Spirit. Shamans usually do not directly conduct rituals dedicated to the Great Soul.”

Seeing Kapak’s reply, Dorothy furrowed her brows. His words brought her some associations.

‘Highly revered but not important…? This feels similar to how the Radiant Savior is regarded within the Radiant Church. The Church values the Three Saints, with most major ceremonies and prayers centered around them, making the Savior seem less significant.’

Dorothy pondered, then decided not to dwell on it further and shifted to other topics with Kapak.

In their subsequent conversation, Kapak shared his difficulties.

“Esteemed Scholar, I must admit that I yearn to gain more knowledge to help my tribe, especially in medical matters. I have seen the wonders of the invaders’ medicines, and now I desperately want to learn more about medicine to aid my people suffering from various ailments.

“But what troubles me is that to ask Akka for more knowledge, I must first offer valuable knowledge. Unfortunately, the precious knowledge in our tribe is kept by the Shaman Lord, and I currently have no authority to access it.”

Sitting at her desk, Dorothy stroked her chin upon hearing Kapak’s predicament. She began to think.

‘This young man is right. In such tribes, traditional knowledge is very valuable and hard to come by without status. It seems Kapak doesn’t hold much status in his tribe, so getting him access to the Shaman’s knowledge could take a long time. Perhaps I can help elevate his status a bit.’

Dorothy thought to herself. She believed that if Kapak could make more contributions to the tribe, he would have better chances of accessing the tribal knowledge.

With this in mind, Dorothy wrote back to Kapak.

“I understand your plight, Kapak. On this matter, I can assist you. I will offer knowledge to Akka without expecting anything in return. I will pray to Akka to pass on any rewards to you. In a couple of days, you can pray to Akka to receive them.”

After finishing, Dorothy watched as her words slowly sank into the page. Soon after, Kapak’s slightly distorted excited handwriting reappeared on the paper.

“Really!? Thank you so much, Scholar! I will remember your kindness and repay you when I can!”

Reading Kapak’s words, Dorothy could picture his joy. A slight smile appeared on her face.

‘To get rich rewards, one needs to invest early. It’s necessary for that young man to gain higher status in his tribe. And for me, this investment is insignificant.’

Dorothy thought, knowing that Kapak wanted medical knowledge. Coincidentally, there was a Medical Department at Saint Crown University, and many medical books were stored in the library.

‘For the tribespeople of the New World, basic medical knowledge could make a big difference, such as preventing plagues and parasitic infections, using medicines and medical devices correctly, treating wounds, and performing simple surgeries… These skills could significantly improve survival rates in underdeveloped conditions. Finding such books in this library should not be difficult.’

Thinking thus, Dorothy looked around the spacious and bright library filled with neatly arranged bookshelves.

This was the library of the capital university of the Prit Kingdom, with an astonishing collection of books covering every aspect of mundane domains. Apart from secret transmissions, almost any kind of book could be found here.

This was why Dorothy enjoyed spending time in the library. Many non-secret transmissions were also useful, like the civil engineering knowledge she used to command zombie puppets to clear rubble and dig tunnels.

“Ugh, alright, let’s find some medical books. Hmm, where are the medical classifications?”

Muttering to herself, Dorothy stood up from her seat, ready to search for relevant books.

Just then, the system’s alarm sounded in her mind.

‘Warning, detection of self-referential information retrieval… Warning, detection of self-referential information retrieval. Estimated completion time is 97 seconds. Please prepare accordingly.’

Hearing this, Dorothy froze, then frowned and sat back down. She had heard this warning before in Igewent; she knew what it meant.

‘This warning means… someone is divining me? Who is it? The An Yin Bureau or the Eight Pinnacle Nest?’

Dorothy pondered in her heart. Clearly, her previous actions had caused quite a stir. Stopping the sacrilegious ritual and eliminating a White Tier had likely caught the attention of related forces, enough to consume precious “Enlightenment” resources for divination.

‘Seems unlikely to be the An Yin Bureau… I haven’t threatened them in any way, and they probably don’t know the battle involved a White Tier. But the Eight Pinnacle Nest is different; they clearly know they lost a White Tier warrior and that an important ritual was stopped. My reputation with them must be quite bad.’

Analyzing internally, Dorothy didn’t delve further. For now, dealing with the divination was her top priority.

‘System, consume spirituality to shield the retrieval.’

Dorothy silently instructed the system. Fortunately, both “Shadow” and “Enlightenment” were plentiful, so she wasn’t too worried about divination.

‘Retrieval has been blocked…’

With the consumption of 1 “Shadow” and 1 “Enlightenment” spirituality, the system’s voice came through. Just as Dorothy relaxed, the system’s warning sounded again.

‘Warning, detection of self-referential information retrieval… Warning, detection of self-referential information retrieval. Estimated completion time is 97 seconds. Please prepare accordingly.’

Recalling the system’s repetitive warnings, Dorothy was slightly stunned, then said aloud.

‘Huh, it’s challenging me, huh?’

…

Recently, my cousin is getting married, and there are many local customs, so I need to help out. Things are getting busy, and updates may be affected. Sorry.

Today, expect two chapters. Tomorrow, there might be no chapter or only one. I’ll try to resume regular updates the day after tomorrow. Please bear with me.