The Thirtieth Episode – Among gamers, they were called the Five Major Cults, but to be precise, it should be referred to as the Four Major Cults. Had Charles not possessed superhuman abilities, they wouldn’t have been called the Five Major Cults. The Absent God was a god without existence, after all.
Other cults that believed in the four evil gods each had a sacred relic. All four belonged to the objects esteemed in mysticism, bestowed by their respective gods.
“Cup, Staff, Sword, Medal.”
Among them, the Fragment Rehabilitation Society held a relic symbolizing the Cup. The remaining cults likely safeguarded the other sacred objects.
After bringing in the holy item yesterday, it was carefully stored in a pre-prepared case.
When the case holding the relic was opened, it felt like eerie voices were heard, inducing a hallucination, though nothing could actually be heard.
If one looked at this relic while completely sober, it would drive them insane. Moreover, if one touched it directly, they would fall under the malevolent influence of the Evil God of the Fragment Rehabilitation Society. Therefore, direct contact was forbidden.
However, due to increased enlightenment, it was possible to somewhat escape the influence of the Evil God. Among the sorcerers, it was well-known that increased enlightenment was directly related to a rise in insanity.
Charles cautiously examined the relic.
Intricate engravings adorned the entire Holy Grail. The material was undoubtedly silver. It had been consecrated for a very long time, and it was so beautiful that it hardly seemed like an object of reality.
At the rim of the Grail, there were many small holes. I remembered that veins were once connected through these openings.
These veins breathed life into Jonas Shaft, the sect leader of the Fragment Rehabilitation Society. The heart-shaped gem, split in half and situated centrally, gleamed ominously.
The ruby on the left symbolized “Fragment,” while the sapphire on the right symbolized “Machine.” Charles examined this gem intently. It was so beautiful that anyone who saw it would undoubtedly fall under its spell.
The Evil God had a penchant for civilization and art. For him, destruction and creation were the same, leading anyone who followed the Evil God to a catastrophic end.
While watching, Charles unknowingly spoke.
“Hmm. I am a song without a sound, a dance without form.”
Those who receive the great gift from the heavens! Those who earn true friendship! Those who gain the warm love of a woman! Let us all gather and sing songs of joy! That’s right. Although those with a single heart on this earth may have him! However, those who cannot attain even that shall shed tears and quietly leave.
-Zzzuin! His eyes have gone half-crazy again.
At Paginarecor’s words, Charles snapped awake. He had just heard a hymn in his mind, and tears were already streaming down his face.
It was a mental contamination. Apart from increased enlightenment, the mind was being invaded by an evil god. Just seeing a glimpse of the evil god through the two gems brought such danger.
-Thank you.
-If you’re grateful, then please give me some talents soon… I’m starving.
-I’ll consider it.
Paginarescor regularly needed to obtain talents; otherwise, he would suffer from hunger pangs. Since it was also time to acquire a new spell, it was due time to grant him some talents. But right now, this had to be checked.
In any case, relying on Paginarescor while analyzing the relic was not an option, so Charles steadied himself and placed a needle under his left hand. If he ever lost his senses, the needle would prick him, awakening him with pain.
Through experience, Charles knew that the power of domination would not work on this relic. Just like weakening living beings, the influence of the Evil God embedded in this relic had to be removed.
There were two methods.
One was the Holy Water of the Radiant One. Occupying the Seat of the Primordial God, the Radiant One was practically a countermeasure to all evil gods. Aside from the Holy Water of the Radiant One, there was another method.
The Evil God symbolized civilization and development. By attaching a relic with the opposite property, the savage and retrogressive relic of Blood-draining Serenity, the two forces would clash and destroy each other. However, the Blood-draining Serenity of the Hellfire Club was currently inaccessible.
Thus, the first option was chosen naturally.
Charles had already prepared in advance before the raid. Just in case, he had bought a large quantity of Holy Water of the Radiant One. He didn’t obtain it from the Holy Radiant Society but purchased pure Holy Water of the Radiant One from an auction house, proving beneficial now.
Additionally, Charles examined the heart of Aranea. He realized that the heart of Aranea looked more beautiful than when his enlightenment level was lower. Viewed at a higher enlightenment level, Aranea’s heart was so transparent that its insides were visible.
After imbuing it with spiritual energy, the bizarre cellular structures inside Aranea’s heart began spinning silk. As enough silk was spun, the cells shrank, and then seemed to slowly recover.
“So this is how it works.”
Charles felt certain that if he obtained a special potion to enhance vitality later, it could be used on Aranea’s heart.
He re-collected the spun silk. Going by the quantity, there was enough to make a whole outfit. It would be a waste to weave this mystical substance into clothes using a common loom.
He decided to find a secret world’s tailor.
"To do that, I’ll have to join the Zukapel Club, where the alchemists are," he thought.
Though he had hesitated to go earlier due to an unfavorable divination, having defeated the puppeteer, he decided it could be ignored.
After visiting the auction house to gather materials, Charles returned straight home.
His secret study was quite perfect. Besides being a secret space, a ventilation system was also set up to filter any acrid, toxic fumes from chemical experiments.
After putting harsh materials into a flask, either double boiling or mixing them, Charles finally created an Enlightenment Neutralizer. A bubbling milky-white liquid.
Though it looked disgusting, Charles disregarded it and gulped it down. His head buzzed as if the liquid was vaporizing.
Black tar-like substance started forming in Charles’ nose and was expelled forward. It was a scene from a bizarre movie, but he calmly used a beaker to catch the tar.
The function of the Enlightenment Neutralizer was to filter chaos from the body. However, it was a temporary measure; if exposed to more lunacy, the enlightenment level would sharply revert to its original state.
His level had dropped to 3. This meant he had reverted to normal.
"Finally, I won’t have to see that disgusting cat anymore."
Charles voiced his thoughts aloud, feeling happy.
No more hallucinations or auditory illusions occurred. Cats or bizarre visions had also vanished. Charles looked at the tar in the fallen beaker.
Its name was ‘Dream Fragment.’ Initially liquid, it quickly hardened.
Dream Fragments were valuable in mysticism, so Charles sealed the beaker. While it felt strange to use something from his own body, he had no choice.
-That lump of black stuff feels familiar.
-It’s the material for talents.
-Talents?
-Yes. Time to keep the promise.
Charles took out several gold talents. He hadn’t bought much other than Neutralizer materials, so he had some money left.
Picking them up, Paginarescor began munching on the talents.
-Seeing you eat them like that, it’s like you’re eating cookies.
-Munch munch. Chomp chomp. Burp.
-.…
My fantasy of you is breaking. Stop it, Paginarescor.
-Here’s a new token.
After eating the talents, Paginarescor took out a new token. By now, Paginarescor had grown slightly larger than a palm. When Charles accepted the token, another strange slot machine appeared, and Charles inserted a coin.
"Oh, please. No Radiant One."
At that moment, the first symbol that appeared was from the Radiant One.
-No chance.
-This is a scam, right?
Charles almost grabbed Paginarescor by the collar, but he had already swirled away. Anyway, he was too small to grab by the collar.
-Just accept it.
The second symbol was a peculiar furnace emblem. It was the sign of the Neutral God, "Five-Colored Hammer." The third was an unknown symbol. From this combination, Charles could guess the type of spell.
It seemed to be a sort of creation spell, and indeed, it was.
Picking up the fallen grimoire page revealed its information.
[Censer of the Unknown]
[Forms a mystical censer capable of containing immense fire. Its shape is not fixed, it can take any form and occupy another dimension. Though it takes a long time to cast, it can be maintained for an equally long period. It processes or forms shapeless objects.]
-This spell is for crafters!
Originally, this was the Radiant One’s Censer spell. It was used to process special metals or make bombs using materials.
It could carry out attacks or defenses in unique ways due to its versatile dimensions, though it wasn’t as effective as a proper offensive spell.
Sighing, Charles etched the name of the Absent God. An immense power was pulled into the mental realm. Each time, the experience was intense.
However, an uneasy feeling began to creep in. Though it was random, only Radiant One spells kept appearing. Given this probability, the next spell would likely be a Radiant One spell.
Charles couldn’t understand why this was happening; he hadn’t antagonized the Radiant One in his past life. Even when playing as Charles in the game, this many Radiant One spells didn’t appear.
Anyway, Charles decided to stop taking out his frustration on Paginarescor. No point in getting angry.
-Master, I have one more function now.
-What’s that?
-I can now escape the perception of others.
-Good.
Perception-reducing abilities developed as Paginarescor consumed more talents. Unless someone had learned special magic or possessed artifacts, they wouldn’t notice his presence, making it potent even against many spiritual beings.
Knock knock.
Someone rapped on the study door. Charles had previously set it up so that knocking could be heard even in the secret study, so he ascended and spoke.
"What is it?"
Jakins entered and said.
"Master. Dr. Drake has arrived."
"Ah, guide him to the study."
Charles had requested Drake to track down Abraham’s whereabouts, and it seemed the information had been discovered. Charles met Drake in the reception room after a long while.
Drake appeared slightly more emaciated than before for some unknown reason. His eyes were hollow, and his previously well-kept hair looked disheveled.
-Who is he?
-I think… it’s Drake.
Charles realized it hadn’t been long since they parted. Drake looked as though he had lived another life in less than a month.
"Drake?"
"I know, my appearance is disgraceful."
"What happened?"
What had transpired with Dr. Drake in less than a month? Instead of answering, Drake handed over a document folder.
"First… take these documents."
Charles opened the folder and was a bit surprised. The material gathered was only a few pages. Compared to his investigation period, it was meager information.
“Some information couldn’t be gathered in physical form. But let me start from the beginning. Why I am like this or about the family. Do you have rum?”
Charles ordered Jakins to bring out the rum. Drake gulped it down, then loosened his choking necktie and slumped into the chair. He looked like someone who had just escaped from being chased.