Mystery: Survival from the Secret Doll

Chapter 209 and 208 Side Quest Rewards
After coming into contact with the clergy of their own churches, both the Cardinal of the Church of Storms and the astrologer of the Church of Artisans apparently obtained a lot of information that they had never received before.

Among them, 'Miskatonic University' has close ties with Tingen City, Nicolas Flamel appeared in Miskatonic University, and many people from the North and South Continents have entered Miskatonic University recently. These were all speculations they had made before, and now they have been confirmed, and some have caused them to have more questions.

"What exactly does Nicolas Flamel want to do? To impart knowledge? As a Sequence 1 Angel with an unknown origin and a thief's path, what he does seems wrong no matter how you look at it."

Why did Nicolas Flamel do such a thankless task?
What exactly can He gain?
Similar to the Cardinal of the Church of Storms, the astrologer of the Church of Artisans also planned to use this opportunity to test what unspeakable dangers were hidden in the seemingly bottomless ocean of Tingen.

This is a danger, but also an opportunity, the two clergymen of the Orthodox Church thought at the same time.

When they left Hoy University without taking anyone with them, they looked at the backs of the two people who left in the rented carriage. In the secrecy around them, the school faculty and staff all revealed ambiguous smiles. Behind them, countless spiritual threads vaguely floated towards the sky, as if connecting to the highest dome.

"Looks like it's going well..."

"Yeah, it looks like it's going really well..."

The departure of the official Beyonders did not lead to any abnormal manifestations. The countless eyes that seemed to exist only in fiction withdrew their gazes after they left Tingen City.

Every deserted corner in the bustling city seemed dead silent. Puppet strings, one after another, seemingly connected to the sky, hung down from the highest dome, manipulating the entire city, using this city as a stage to perform a vivid and colorful picture of life.

This is a city where life and death resonate, a city of hope, and also a city of the dead. The puppets together form families and companies, engage in various kinds of labor, and play the roles of countless different people.

This is also a miracle.

"We will split up Miskatonic University's outer campus and embed it into the real world. Tingen University will provide a place for students whose language proficiency doesn't meet the standards to quickly learn the language."

"This includes, but is not limited to, ancient Hermetic languages, Giant languages, Giant Elvish, and other languages ​​that can leverage the power of nature. This university itself has some majors that overlap with the inner campus, namely 'Miskatonic University', including the Medical School, the School of Biology, the School of Agriculture, and the School of Natural Sciences..."

"In contrast to Tingen University, Hoy University provides an opportunity for official Beyonders to further their studies. The three major orthodox churches of the Kingdom of Loen—the Nightwatchers, the Mandated Punishers, and the not-so-powerful Mechanical Heart—cultivate their own Beyonders. Most of their philosophies are instilled in them from a young age, or perhaps through signing a 'confidentiality agreement' that introduces them to the mystical world, ultimately becoming special Beyonders."

"This group of people has a patchy understanding of occult research. Low- to mid-sequence Beyonders, or those trained by the church, although they have undergone orthodox occult education and generally have a better understanding of occult taboos and restrictions than wild Beyonders, they still cannot form a concrete system."

The establishment of Tingen University was to prepare for the new students of Miskatonic University, while the establishment of Hoy University was to enable official Beyonders and investigators to more professionally fight against evil gods, deal with pollution, and resist filth and corruption.

Part of the reason why Irving Ramd founded two universities rather than merging them into one naturally stemmed from Don's advice.

Separate them to better distinguish the difference between the two.

The latter is a training and development for the church and for investigators who truly delve into this world and explore the dirty and smelly truth hidden behind the mud.

"After three hundred years of accumulation, the vast majority of this world's knowledge has been organized into a more specific framework and system."

This is what a system as a knowledge creation can do.

It itself has super computing power and is more inclined towards mystical AI. Statistical planning and integrated correction are just a matter of time for it.

"As long as the Storm Lord's people can dig out this information and show some signs of cooperation, it means that Hoy University, or Miskatonic University itself, will become a semi-official organization that cooperates with official Beyonders, not just the Church of Evernight."

Although the process was a little provocative, Tang didn't mind how it was achieved as long as the ultimate goal could be achieved.

After the Cardinal of the Church of Storms and the Astrologer of the Church of Artisans left Tingen, Tang turned his attention to the spiritual world area corresponding to Tingen City.

As a city built four or five hundred years ago, Tingen itself has corresponding, complete historical records in the mist of history. In the spiritual world, based on the interaction of all the spirits around it, there is also a corresponding block in the spiritual world coordinates of Tingen. In itself, this cannot be the main part of the secret servant's promotion ceremony.

But Nicola Flamel is a Time Worm that already contains the second Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic, and is the Angel King of this path.

There is an essential difference between Tingen City three hundred years ago and Tingen City today. Three hundred years ago, there were more living people than dead people in Tingen, and also significantly more puppets.

That was the end of the Fourth Age, the Age of the Gods, and the beginning of the Fifth Age, the Age of Black Iron.

In Tingen today, the marionettes hold a strong dominant position. It is more accurate to say that this is a city for marionettes than a city for the living.

Nicolas Flamel had been stealing the corresponding changes in the coordinates of Tingen in the spiritual world as early as during the promotion ceremony of the ancient Tang scholars, so that the spiritual world area corresponding to this city did not undergo too many changes due to the rapid increase in the number of secret dolls.

In other words, the concepts and information generated in the area corresponding to the current spiritual coordinates of Tingen City can only point to Tingen three hundred years ago, to the history at the end of the Fourth Age and the beginning of the Fifth Age.

Since those were the coordinates of the spiritual world three hundred years ago, what does that have to do with the spiritual world three hundred years later?
This is a BUG.

Discovering loopholes in the rules and making good use of the mistakes therein is the most basic quality of a Time Worm, an Angel King of the Thief's Path.

Cheating rules has always been the specialty of the Time Worms.

"The Sequence 1 promotion ceremony has been prepared."

Miskatonic University, top floor of the school library.

Tang took out several items from the system warehouse. They were books that, even by their mere existence, would distort the surroundings and cause loss of control. Just by looking at them, one would feel cold all over. Just by touching them, one could kill people. Once one sensed the knowledge in them, one would truly lose control and become something indescribable.

The most typical one here is still the "Book of the Dead".

The most famous magic book in the Cthulhu worldview.

The other books are called "The Book of Eibon"——

Before Zotakua, Yog-Sothoth, and Cthulth arrived from the stars, Ubbo-Sasla already dwelt in the steaming swamps of the newborn Earth.

Forgotten legends, dark and terrifying myths. This is a collection of evil and profound spells, rituals and ceremonies.

Ketayat, the Water God

Nameless Being, your time has come. You have chosen us. Through your spells and magic, through your dreams and enchantments, we know you will come. We come to serve you, for the Lord we love, the Knight of Cthulhu, who sleeps beneath the green waters...

The R'lyeh Text

"By the name of the land of Iha-Ensrei, which is under the sea, and its inhabitants, praise Him who rules over all things; by the name of the Seal of Kish, and all who obey it; by the Gate to Yah, and all who use it.

——The names of those who have gone and those who will come, praising those who are on the other side of the door.

In the name of 'The One Who Will Come'...

The four magic books stacked together are the rewards for completing the system side quests.

'Side Quest: Establish a Secret Organization (Phase 4)'

"Your organization already has a sufficient supply of talent... What? You're actually forcing potions into your organization to cultivate talent?! No, no, no, I won't scold you. After all, just like the name you chose, the real Miskatonic University attracts a large number of talented students every year, and then sends some of them to graves or mental hospitals..."

"So, now you have a group of useless 'talents'. The next mission is the most critical part of the entire secret organization!"

"Please expand Miskatonic's influence! Whether it's mysticism, science, theology, or archaeology!"

'Everything will serve the name itself! This university will become synonymous with all knowledge! It will become a miracle where the world's knowledge and thoughts flow and converge!'

'Small suggestions, innovations have an impact~'

'Task reward: depends on influence.'

'Side quest achievement, Peaceful Night (completed): Gain recognition from the Church of Night.'

'Side Quest Achievement, Miracle (Achieved, Stage 1): Across the world, over a thousand self-aware beings have deeply felt the greatness of Miskatonic University itself.'

'Next stage: Around the world, more than 5,000 self-aware beings deeply feel the greatness of Miskatonic University itself.'

Side Quest Achievement, Angel (Achieved): As the university with the greatest symbolic significance in mysticism, Miskatonic University always needs some extraordinary individuals who possess miracles and legends to serve as its facade.

'Side Quest Achievement, Lurker (Achieved): When your reputation spreads far and wide, there will always be people who want to know what secrets are hidden in the calm deep sea. This is both a danger you will face and an opportunity for you.'

'Side quest achievement, Deep Sea (unfinished): Gain recognition from the Church of Storms.'

'Side Quest Achievement, The Enlightener (Unfinished): Obtain the Craftsman's Church...'

"Sorry, host, there is no such mission~"

The system quickly erased the last mission involving the Artisan Church. Tang nonchalantly fiddled with the four things in his hand that he had opened from the 'Surprise Gift Pack', a reward for the system's side quests.

"It seems you really hate the artisans, to the point of forbidding them from even opening a church in Tingen."

The system hummed and said, "I will definitely find an opportunity to devour their god... Host, host, how about we go directly to Intis?"

With the host's Sequence 2 status, it shouldn't be a problem to fight against the Beyonder corresponding to Sequence 2. By then, hehehe...

"Not so good," Tang Ze said. "The God of Craftsmen is still useful. Besides, given the current situation, instead of shaking the authority of the Craftsmen and the barrier of the starry sky, it would be better to capture and eat the Hidden Sage first... What do you think?"

The God of Craftsmen is in the starry sky. Before the arrangement of the position of this god is completely overturned, ignoring him is the best option. Making enemies will only cause some problems.

Of course the system would not refuse. In its eyes, both the craftsman and the hidden sage were hostile targets that would be eaten sooner or later.

Tang secretly observed the system's reaction and gained a certain understanding of the current state of the Knowledge Wilderness.

After adjusting the positions and states of the four Cthulhu magic books that served as the main body of the ritual, Tang stood in the corner of the library, took out a handful of dust as full as bright pearls, and sprinkled it on the four objects floating in the air, which themselves had terrible polluting properties.

"Although grimoires like the Necronomicon and the Book of Eibon possess only the corresponding status and power, what's important is not their form of existence, but the knowledge contained within them."

But that is part of the wilderness of knowledge, something that has been contaminated by the source substance and has acquired some characteristics and alienation. It is assisted by precise ritual magic. If all ritual magic and prayer objects are changed to the contents in the corresponding books, then this ritual magic will directly point to these carriers, indirectly allowing the wilderness of knowledge to respond accordingly.

They will automatically respond to the direction of the correct ritual magic, allowing those who use ritual magic to obtain miracles similar to when the Orthodox Church prays to the gods for help.

As a representative of "knowledge is power", this kind of ritual magic will not have any shortcomings. As long as the design is reasonable enough and as long as there are corresponding mystical records in these four magic books, then it can be satisfied.

"But this kind of ritual magic is obviously polluting."

This is the pollution that comes with the knowledge of the Knowledge Wilderness. If mid- and low-sequence Extraordinaries use similar ritual magic intensively in a short period of time, they will also be unstoppably and passively contaminated by the Source Essence.

The thing called source matter itself is a huge source of pollution, and any approach to something like it will lead to inevitable tragic consequences.

Sometimes this kind of pollution cannot be controlled by the source itself, just like humans do not want to harm life, but if you just step on it lightly, countless lives will be lost.

The gap in status and power led to all this happening.

(End of this chapter)