Chapter 44

Chapter 44: The Enlightened One

After Dorothy confirmed her prayer, that dialog-like thing suddenly vanished, and then the surrounding environment experienced a sudden disruption.

In the originally calm and tranquil house, a small whirlwind suddenly whipped up from nowhere. The flickering candles were extinguished in an instant, the swirling smoke was dispersed, and the outer circle of the magical array drawn with ashes blew into a neat spiral pattern. The cloak draped over Dorothy rustled, yet the symbol of “Enlightenment” at the center of the magical array remained unchanged.

The wind that had sprung up abruptly lasted for a moment before stopping immediately. Once the wind ceased, the candles were extinguished, the incense was unlit, and the magical array drawn in dust was scattered. Kneeling in the array, Dorothy slowly stood up. At that moment, her eyes were clear, and her thoughts were as tranquil as a still lake.

“Is this what it means to be an Extraordinary Being?”

Looking at her hands, Dorothy murmured. She could distinctly feel the changes happening within her.

Now, Dorothy felt her thoughts clearer and more transparent than ever. She could easily concentrate and disperse her attention. Her mental power had significantly increased, and she felt invigorated; her mind had never been this clear before.

“This is the Extraordinary Being known as ‘Enlightened One’ at the apprentice stage of the path of ‘Enlightenment… Unlike ‘Cup’ which enhances vitality and the body, ‘Enlightenment’ enhances my mental power and intellectual capacity…”

After the promotion ended, Dorothy intuitively understood the name of her current rank and its corresponding abilities, as if inspired.

“Now, I should experiment a little…”

With a smile, Dorothy spoke to herself. Having just become an Extraordinary Being, she wanted to test her newfound abilities. However, as she put on her hood and confidently stepped out of the door, something suddenly crossed her mind. She turned back to glance at the remnants of the ritual site behind her and then sheepishly ran back to grab the new broom and dustpan she had bought to clean up.

After spending half a day meticulously cleaning up the traces of the ritual, tired Dorothy wiped the sweat from her forehead and couldn’t help but grumble in her heart.

“Phew… The first thing I do after becoming an Extraordinary Being is physical labor… This so-called ‘Enlightened One’ doesn’t enhance physical strength at all…”

Once she finished cleaning the ritual site, Dorothy quickly left the small grove and walked a kilometer to the fishing spot by the river. Puffing and panting, she finally boarded a carriage that took her back to the city of Igewent.

From the carriage window, Dorothy watched the pedestrians coming and going along the street, along with the dazzling advertisements. Eventually, the carriage stopped in front of a bookstore. Afterwards, Dorothy got off and walked straight into the store, picked up a thick tap dance instruction book, and found a secluded spot to sit down.

Seated, Dorothy quietly read her book, focused and immersed, just like any other person browsing the bookstore. Except… she was flipping through the pages at an unbelievable speed.

After glancing at a full page of text seven or eight times, Dorothy swiftly turned the page, continuing at nearly the same pace. At a glance, one might think she was just casually flipping through the book… However, she had absorbed all the content on each page, which was one of her Extraordinary Abilities.

The “Enlightened One” possesses superior mental and spiritual power that grants an incredible capacity for learning. While reading, she could read ten lines at a time, drastically compressing the learning time and easily understanding the content of the books.

In just half an hour, Dorothy finished reading the entire collection of poetry. She then closed her eyes and recalled the book’s content, remembering almost every word perfectly. Furthermore, she could vividly remember the pedestrians and advertisements she had seen from the carriage on her way here. She could still recall the content of the advertisements and the appearances of the pedestrians, even remembering their every action and expression in detail. Every strand of hair on a dog and every wrinkle on an old man’s face came to mind, as if they were high-definition images that could be retrieved from her mind at any moment.

This was the powerful short-term memory provided by the “Enlightened One.” Essentially, Dorothy could remember everything she had seen and heard within half a day in meticulous detail. Once the memory exceeded its time limit, the overly detailed memories acquired through the ability would gradually fade with the passage of time. However, she could spend time reinforcing certain memories to preserve them long-term.

‘It really feels like a cheat for a scholar…’

Dorothy murmured, then returned the book to the shelf. She then slowly exited the bookstore and took a carriage to the dock area.

Upon arriving at the bustling dock area, Dorothy donned her hood and navigated through the foul-smelling air until she reached a warehouse. Stopping in front of the compartment she rented, Dorothy unlocked the door with her key.

Upon entering and closing the door, Dorothy fixed her gaze on a few long boxes placed in the center of the room. She then opened one of them and activated the Zombie Puppet Ring on her hand.

In a moment, a familiar figure pushed open the lid of the long “coffin” and stood up: it was Edric, whom she hadn’t seen for a long time.

After shedding the members of the Holy Communion by jumping into the river that day, Dorothy had used her powers to control Edric, who jumped into the river, swimming to the riverbed. She hooked onto the abandoned machinery that had sunk to the bottom with a prepared grappling hook, preventing it from floating away. The next night, under the cover of darkness, Dorothy returned to retrieve it, carefully manipulating Edric to crawl upstream on the riverbed until they came ashore on a hidden sandbank.

The reason she kept Edric was that, at that time, he was the only corpse she could control. Losing him might complicate her future operations, and now Dorothy was here to experiment with him.

Looking at Edric, who appeared pale, expressionless, and silent, Dorothy raised her finger. With a thought, she infused 1 point of spirituality into the Zombie Puppet Ring.

Immediately, Dorothy felt her thoughts connect more tightly with the Zombie Puppet Ring, and the spiritual link to Edric became much stronger.

Then, with a thought, Edric, as a corpse, immediately began to move, performing a tap dance from earlier that Dorothy had read about in the book.

In the dimly lit space, Edric danced with feet alternating and body leaping, the sound of his shoes echoing throughout the room. His movements were natural and completely unlike that of a dead body; he seemed just like a living person.

Next, with a wave of her hand, Edric began to execute different moves. He first performed a set of radio calisthenics from the era’s summons, then did a front and back somersault, and pretended to be the Monkey King, perfectly embodying the expressions and movements. Finally, he executed a Thomas spin with both hands on the ground, with increasing difficulty.

At last, Dorothy had Edric stand straight in front of her, and softly spoke.

“Hello, Mr. Grandy.”

Hearing Dorothy’s words, Edric smiled faintly and naturally knelt on one knee before her, placing his hand on his chest as he spoke.

“I await your command, Miss Meyshos.”