Six hundred and fifty-third Accumulation
In a cafe near the Church District of Northern Tivyán, Dorothy sat in a tranquil private room, gazing at her reflection in the glass window beside her while recalling the contents of the secret transmissions she had recently read from the underground forbidden book repository of the Hymn Cathedral, especially those with significant value. The first piece was an autobiographical secret transmission written by a nun named Eunina.
‘This nun named Eunina has some similarities with Vania in terms of experience; both were devout followers of the Holy Mother from a young age, both were ‘gifted’ in some sense, and both rose through the ranks within the Radiant Church from grassroots levels to high positions, ultimately reaching the Red Tier level… The biggest difference between them might lie in Vania’s pure faith in the Holy Mother, unlike Eunina.’
‘Eunina’s worship of the Holy Mother is fanatical, even to the point where she wishes to personally hear divine revelations. However, under the teachings of the Radiant Church, only the Pope can directly communicate with the Three Saints, which makes her feel discontent in secret… It always feels like the rule that only the Pope can commune with the divine in the Radiant Church is unreasonable.’
Dorothy thought that the Radiant Church’s foundation is based on the faith in the Three Saints, and there are many fervent believers among its followers. Eunina’s phenomenon could be considered inevitable. However, while the church cultivates fervent believers in the Three Saints, it monopolizes the power to communicate directly with the Three Saints in the hands of the Pope, which poses a significant problem.
The issue of the Pope monopolizing communication with the Three Saints is not a major problem for ordinary Radiant believers or middle-to-lower-level personnel in the church, as both the Pope and the Three Saints are distant figures to them. However, this situation is different for high-ranking officials above the Red Tier level.
Radiant Church extraordinary beings at the Red Tier level have a profound understanding of the hidden and extraordinary. Those who have knowledge of other heterodox beliefs and gods would find it unreasonable that the three gods of the Radiant Church share a single messenger. This could lead to a sense of doubt among the fanatics.
‘The Three Saints sharing the Pope as their messenger also means that in the vast church, the Three Saints only recognize the Pope. This seems strange. Although the Radiant Three Saints appear more united compared to the Amniotic Trinity, they are still three distinct deities. Even if they are close, it’s unlikely they would share a single messenger. Do they always manage to reach a consensus before issuing divine decrees?’
Dorothy pondered that the Radiant Church’s situation is more about worshiping the Pope than the three gods. It is akin to a religious leader in a world without gods, where a non-existent deity never speaks, and only a single representative acts in the deity’s name to command the believers. The Pope’s power is immense, possessing exclusive rights to interpret scriptures and authority over high-ranking clergy within the church, surpassing even the gods themselves. It’s hard to imagine such a scenario in a world with real deities.
Dorothy continued to think, believing that the Radiant Church’s operational model is very likely to foster heretics. For instance, the author of this secret transmission, Eunina, already shows potential to evolve into a heretic.
‘This Eunina… At the end of the book, she writes about wanting to take the name of Saint Amanda, meaning she wants to become one of the Seven Living Saints. If I remember correctly, Amanda is currently Vania’s greatest support within the church, which means she might be the same person as the former Eunina? It’s uncertain… Who knows if the former Eunina succeeded.’
Dorothy thought, then slowly exhaled and took a sip of coffee before recalling other noteworthy secret transmissions.
Apart from the rumored last blackened nun’s book “Thirst for Faith,” Dorothy also noticed two secret transmissions about “Shadow.” One was a messy notebook without a specific title, filled with scattered phrases describing a mysterious “Shadow” society.
This society is called the “Silent Brotherhood,” a group entirely composed of assassins, elusive and unpredictable. Wherever their members appear, someone is bound to be assassinated.
Among the victims were royal nobles, influential figures in the secret world, involving various countries and societies, whether evil cults or official organizations, from cult leaders to archbishops of the church, all have been successfully assassinated by them, rarely failing. They are considered the most powerful and professional assassin group in the secret world.
The Silent Brotherhood is extremely capable, operating across a wide range of targets without discrimination, leading many to believe they are hired mercenaries working for personal gain. However, the reality is different. The notebook states that no one in the secret world has ever known how to contact the Silent Brotherhood, let alone hire them. Despite executing numerous assassinations over centuries, no one knows why they carry out these killings, as their targets seem random, with no clear reason for appearing on their hit list.
People know that an assassination is related to the Silent Brotherhood because they leave a distinctive mark after a successful hit—a fine, crescent-shaped scythe made from a special material unique to them.
The Silent Brotherhood is highly mysterious, unknown in origin and purpose, seemingly acting on whim with seemingly unrelated assassination activities. Many notable figures in the church have been targeted, and even the church, royal families of various countries, and major cults have once dedicated considerable efforts to tracking them down, but to little effect.
From the notebook, the Silent Brotherhood’s activity mainly occurred around five to six hundred years ago. Although rumors persist that they have never been eradicated, their activities have gradually decreased over recent centuries, nearly ceasing completely. In the past one or two hundred years, there has been no clear evidence of their resurgence, making them less prominent in the current secret world, more of a legend.
‘An assassin group with no employer, unclear motives, targeting a wide range of people, indiscriminate in their actions… It turns out there are such free assassin organizations in this world? Reading the descriptions in the secret transmission, it feels like these people k*ll out of sheer whim.
‘Such a secretive assassin organization… not only exists but is incredibly powerful, able to target anyone from church kingdoms to high-ranking cult leaders, and then escape unscathed, evading multiple retaliatory pursuits… It almost feels unnatural without divine protection, but which deity is protecting this strange society, and what is His purpose?’
Dorothy pondered, the sickle-like crescent moon immediately bringing to mind a familiar deity, though she was unsure if that deity truly had a close relationship with the Silent Brotherhood.
‘On the surface, the Silent Brotherhood seems to have a slight connection to the Mirror Moon Goddess, but it’s difficult to clarify exactly what that connection is. Could they be forces left behind by the Mirror Moon on this continent? But why would She do that? What is the purpose of the Silent Brotherhood’s indiscriminate attacks on so many important figures in the secret world? Why have they become inactive in the past one or two centuries?’
Dorothy pondered deeply, but lacking sufficient context, such contemplation did not yield any valuable clues, so she decided to set it aside for now.
Another secret transmission Dorothy found noteworthy was titled “Shadow Thief Manual,” a handbook used by the secretive society “Shadow Thief Guild” to train advanced theft skills. If the Silent Brotherhood is an assassin group, then they could be considered a den of thieves.
The Shadow Thief Guild is a gathering of thieves and pickpockets, stealing from wealthy merchants, officials, civilians, and even precious items from secretive societies to profit. Among them are extraordinary thieves with Extraordinary Abilities, but there are far more ordinary thieves who join the guild without any understanding of the hidden or extraordinary.
The Shadow Thief Guild does not have high levels of Extraordinary capabilities, with rare White Chalk and common Black Earth, but its scale is unusually large, with members spread across several continents in major cities. The organization structure is extremely loose, with each city having its own mountain stronghold, barely unified. Different mountains elect respected individuals to serve as common mentors, but the hierarchical relationship between mentors and these mountains is weak. Mentors are responsible for imparting experience, enhancing communication, guiding directions, and coordinating collaboration, with no clear leader in the entire organization, only loosely enforced tenets.
The Shadow Thief Guild inherits various branches of Extraordinary abilities, none particularly high. They have close ties with the Treasure Theft Society, primarily focused on tomb raiding, often collaborating. They operate under different names in various cities, disguising themselves as local gangs. The mentors are the most experienced Extraordinary beings, and this manual summarizes the theft techniques of countless individuals.
‘This Shadow Thief Guild… rather than being an Extraordinary society, it’s more like a free mutual aid association for thieves. With such weak organizational structure, besides stealing, they don’t have much else in mind, and the overall Extraordinary component is extremely low. Compared to other cult societies, this one is relatively safe. Such a society… or organization should be the least concerning for various official bodies.’
Dorothy evaluated in her heart, finding the existence of this band of thieves quite interesting. The content in this secret transmission might come in handy unexpectedly in the future.
Finally, the secret transmission Dorothy paid attention to was titled “Rotten Preliminary Examination,” which, as the name suggests, briefly outlines the information about the Rotten Sect, a mysterious branch within the Amniotic Trinity.
The term “Rotten Sect” is actually a unilateral and narrow term used by various societies on the Main Continent to refer to a certain group. The main activities and base of the Rotten Sect are far from the Main Continent, located deep in the southern interior of the Ufeiga continent, in the vast rainforest region, where numerous indigenous tribes participate in their faith. There, the Rotten Sect is also referred to as the “Longevity Cult.”
In the harsh environment of the southern Ufeiga rainforest, miasma is pervasive, mosquitoes rampant, and diseases widespread. Various venomous snakes and beasts emerge frequently. Numerous indigenous tribes struggle to survive here, often worshipping a deity named “Prolonged Filth Deity” and forming a strict religious organization under the leadership of their chiefs. The Longevity Cult is the de facto ruler of these tribes.
Believers of the Longevity Cult revere illness and parasites, growing up enduring various ailments and voluntarily implanting different parasites and nurturing them. They believe that illnesses are a test given by the deity, and those who pass will gain stronger bodies and longer lifespans. Those who d*e without passing will have their corpses used as cultivation vessels for new rituals.
Here, strong parasites are seen as messengers of the deity. To the believers of the Longevity Cult, harboring and nurturing parasites within their bodies is equivalent to being with the deity, and they are happy to do so. The entire region is in a highly diseased and bizarre state.
‘I never expected… The Rotten Sect’s base is so far from the Main Continent, not on the Conquer Sea, nor in Northern Ufeiga, but in the true fringe of civilization in Southern Ufeiga. No wonder there were few clues about the Rotten Sect in the past.
‘The Rotten Sect is so far from the Main Continent, away from conflicts between major Extraordinary organizations and national churches. Now, they suddenly act, traveling thousands of miles to actively support the Wolf bl**d Association… That’s really something.’
After finishing the coffee in front of her, Dorothy pondered, reflecting on all the noteworthy secret transmissions. There were about ten transmissions with various spiritual attributes. After extracting all the spiritual energy from them, Dorothy received a substantial reward: 14 cups, 12 stones, 17 shadows, 8 lamps, 9 silences, and 29 enlightenments.
Adding the spiritual energy remaining from the attack on the Hymn Cathedral, Dorothy’s current spiritual condition is:
18 cups, 16 stones, 25 shadows, 16 lamps, 20 silences, 37 enlightenments.
Overall, this can be considered a spiritual harvest. Although this amount is far from meeting the requirements for advancement, it is enough to sustain one or two tough battles against strong enemies. Dorothy finally has almost complete combat capability.
‘Phew… With the spiritual deficiency caused by advancement finally gone, with so many aspects of spiritual energy, there’s no need to fear unexpected situations…’
Dorothy sighed deeply, thinking in her heart that this event with the Wolf bl**d Association was definitely beneficial for her. After replenishing so much spiritual energy, she has nothing to worry about in the short term. She can now slowly prepare her own plans.
‘I’ve just advanced to the Red Tier. There’s no rush to find ways to advance again. The current priority is to continue consolidating and increasing my spiritual reserves while expanding the influence of my strength…’
Leaning back in her chair, Dorothy thought while shifting her gaze to the drawing of a wolf-like monster on the notepad on her desk.
‘From practical experience, the writer’s ability is very useful, but there is one issue: geographical limitations. Powerful legendary bodies can only achieve their best effects when summoned locally. I can’t stay in one place forever. If I leave the area where the legends circulate, some powerful legendary bodies won’t work as well as before.
‘Is there a way to solve this problem?’
Dorothy pondered, and soon she had an idea.
With this idea in mind, Dorothy picked up the notepad, turned to the page with the drawing of the wolf-like monster, and after a long pause, began to write.
“The bl**d Source Legend”
