I loaded the Mysticism panel.

Horus raised his hand to block, but found that he could not stop the brute force at all.

The punch slammed into his metal mask, denting it completely.

A feather hanging from the top was knocked off and fell into the pile of dry grass along with its owner.

Of course, Hercules, having been pierced through the chest by a spear, wasn't much better off himself.

The two of them fell down at the same time.

One was rolling around in the hay, and the other was kneeling on one knee.

The howling winds of the wasteland rose again, carving a clear-cut turbulent etheric current between the two.

The scene remained silent for a long time before Horus stood up first.

With a slight lift of his hand, the short spear sprang back from Hercules' chest and flew into his hand.

The wound was so shallow that the big man's wife glanced at it and didn't go over.

Hercules placed his hand on it, as if to stop the bleeding.

Horus stands ramrod straight in the picture, but the dented iron mask looks ridiculous no matter how you look at it.

He spoke:

"You're probably not that person."

"You can't hide anything."

He beckoned, and Hercules' wife didn't stop him; the peregrine falcon automatically flew back to Horus's shoulder.

Before turning to leave, he said something indifferently.

"Actually, I don't like our leader either."

"If you want to talk, I can pass on the message."

"Also, you can keep that feather on the ground yourself."

"I don't want it anymore."

The projected image became distorted.

Hercules took the feather from his pocket and threw it directly onto the table.

Everyone present glanced at it.

"It's clean; there are no hidden traps or tricks on it."

:

Hecate picked up the feather.

"But just to be on the safe side, I suggest you leave this to me to handle."

The big guy didn't say anything, he just nodded.

Hecate simply put the feather into her torch and burned it.

Overall, this battle resulted in mutual destruction.

Hercules was left with a shallow wound on his chest, but given his regenerative abilities, it should heal quickly.

The injuries he inflicted on Horus were so severe that Richard could almost feel the pain of that punch even through the screen.

Horus will probably be unable to show his face for several months, and he may even need to have his bones realigned.

In fact, Horus's fighting style is quite similar to how I use mirrors to read the opponent's intentions.

But Horus's ability to foresee the future seems to be even stronger through the use of the mask of the god's name.

Hecate's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Last month, Apophis himself came to the capital."

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the entire temple became solemn.

"Nemesis, Hermes."

"You two should have been in Beijing at that time too. Could you tell me about your situation?"

Hecate was being very polite here.

Richard and Nemesis exchanged a glance, and Richard spoke on her behalf.

"We did meet with him; he was here for a total of about ten days."

"How close were you when you met?" Prometheus asked.

"The same room."

"Did you speak?"

"Of course he did. He did most of the talking, and I was listening."

Dionysus picked up his amphora again, but put it down halfway through.

"Does he know who you are?"

"I'm no different from anyone else sitting in his room chatting with him, at least that's how I see it."

:

Nemesis typed a few lines.

"Me too."

Richard's words contained a great deal of information.

Hercules gaped open.

"You two have been under the nose of a great master of the Abyss tradition for a full ten days."

"I fought like this with one of his subordinates, and you two are sitting right across from the main character!"

Richard smiled inwardly.

No, it's more dangerous over there.

Scholars have their clashes; hunters, on the other hand, are ruthless and incisive.

Dionysus then raised his two-handled cup and gestured to Richard.

Go to Must Search

"I now think that you scholars are far more terrifying than us who take action."

Hecate then spoke last, asking a question.

"How did you manage to do that?"

Richard nodded to himself, as expected.

He had actually prepared several versions of the story, but in the end, all of them could be condensed into a single sentence.

"We've just put ourselves in a position that's insignificant."

"Treat him in the most normal way, and even take the initiative to ask him questions. Apophis is actually a very kind professor on the surface."

Everyone present looked surprised and uncertain upon hearing this.

It's easier said than done. Facing a master of the Abyss tradition who wants to investigate you, you have to sit in a room with him without flinching and be repeatedly questioned, all while pretending to be eager to learn and asking him for academic advice.

To be honest, none of those present could muster such mental fortitude.

Hecate simply nodded and withdrew her hand from the table.

"very good."

"There is another important topic to discuss next."

She stood up.

:

Between the seven stone chairs, a map emerged from the center of the round table.

The map mainly marks several key locations.

Of course, this map is limited to the western continent.

"Since we still have some time today, I'm going to tell you about the situation at the other tables besides ours, using the latest intelligence updates."

She didn't give anyone a chance to interrupt and started speaking directly.

"Let's start with Scandinavia."

The Scandinavian region in the northern part of the map is lit up.

"They devoured the Celtic table in March of this year."

Not long after, a scholar who was an expert in hunting the moon came to their door with a book and wiped them all out.

One of the top experts died, and the rest were seriously injured.

"It has been half a year now, and they are still recovering from their injuries, generally in a state of dormancy."

She hesitated for a moment after saying this.

"But to say that they are in a state of dormancy is not entirely true."

"How so?" Dionysus asked hastily.

Hecate flicked the silk thread in her hand.

"Rumors can be seen spreading in Lukang, the ports of the two neutral countries to the south, and several taverns with signs from local guilds."

"And tracing back to the source, I suspect it was Loki who did it."

Hecate snorted coldly.

"This guy's favorite trick is to play these kinds of petty tricks and treat everyone else like fools."

Richard remained silent, keeping a close eye on things, since Skadi, whom he knew, was sitting at that table.

Hecate then spoke about the second table.

"Let's talk about Ross's table next."

The easternmost area on the map also lit up.

"They never cause trouble; they'll do things for whoever pays them."

Hecate's words here are very brief, seemingly indicating that she is quite wary of Ross's table.

:

Richard saw this and mentally raised the danger level of Ross's table by one level.

If Matthew were here and knew what Richard was thinking, he would definitely laugh out loud and say: "Kid, this is the way of thinking that only someone sitting in the seat of honor would have."

Hecate has already mentioned the table in Iberia.

"There was infighting at this table last winter, and two people were replaced in total."

Currently, it's the weakest of all the tables in terms of overall strength, and it's looking for a backer everywhere.

"They have already conveyed the message of non-aggression to at least two tables."

The non-aggression pact that was delivered to us last time was conveyed by them.

"Has the chief responded?"

"Of course I didn't reply."

"And there's the German table too."

The patch of color in the central part of the western continent on the map is more solid than the others.

"Their strength is average, and they even suffered a setback in a team battle this March."

But after April 30th, they gained a newly promoted expert behind them.

"I believe everyone knows who that expert is."

The poisonous gas cloud in Flanders was something that everyone present had discussed, and of course, everyone was aware of it.

"The Germans are backed by this newly emerged expert, and with the temporary imbalance of national power, the Ministry of Military Supplies has provided them with some support. Nobody dares to touch them now."

"Finally, there's the Black Soil River area."

The southernmost area of ​​the Mediterranean Sea on the map only has a little bit of light along the Black Soil River, while the vast desert inland is completely blank.

"This table is also the one that has shown the most hostility towards us recently."

Led by a scholar with profound knowledge of the Abyss tradition, there appears to be another expert standing behind him.

They sound like the most difficult to deal with, but actually their organization is also the most disorganized.

After Hecate finished talking about the Black Earth River, she casually pointed to the Apennine Peninsula area on the map.

"Then there was Rome, but they no longer exist."

Upon hearing this, Hercules touched the wound on his chest.

Dionysus looked at the crack on the rim of his cup, while Prometheus thought of the puppet.

:

Richard noticed that Hecate didn't seem to have finished speaking.

Sure enough, the other person's next sentence was:

"Let's talk about ourselves first. Based on our overall strength and background, we can now secure a place in the top three."

She stretched out her fingers and counted them one by one.

"We devoured a whole table of Roman mythology and even invited a connoisseur to the event."

"Standing behind him are two highly accomplished scholars and one highly accomplished craftsman."

"In addition, all the divine-made weapons have been deployed, and many people have even condensed a second divine-made weapon."

Hecate glanced around but didn't say who it was.

Then, she changed the subject.

"But the price of making it into the top three is that from today onwards, no one will treat us like pushovers anymore."

"Those who came to probe the Black Soil River last month, next time they come, they might not just stop there."

Hercules raised his hand.

"Chief, although we have absorbed a great deal of divine names and power from the Roman table."

But aside from the tangible gains in material possessions and knowledge, I haven't felt any real benefit from my divine name.

Hecate nodded, having anticipated this question.

"To answer this, let's go back to the table in Northern Europe."

"They devoured the entire Celtic table in March this year, because the whole table was weaker than them, so they did it very well."

Upon hearing this, everyone present had some questions.

Hecate continued speaking.

"The name of a deity that has just been swallowed needs a digestion period, which is about three to four months."

"After digestion, everyone will receive a certain boost in the power they gain through the divine name."

But during the digestion process, the names associated with you will conflict with each other.

If someone were to exploit this weakness, even the most skilled expert would be unimaginably vulnerable.

Dionysus understood.

"So the winning side in the team fight will have to keep a low profile for the next few months."

:

"right."

Hecate scanned the entire table with her eyes.

"Now you should understand why I tightened the rules immediately after June 17th."

For the three months following June 17th, the gatherings continued as usual, and intelligence was still being collected, but there was virtually no further interaction with other tables outside.

Hecate even rejected all the overtures offered by the other tables, refusing to respond to any of them.

Upon hearing this, Hercules couldn't help but raise his hand.

"Chief, I have a question."

"explain."

"As you just said, we just finished eating at the Roman table and are at our weakest."

The big guy scratched his head: "What if another team fight breaks out at another table? Wouldn't we be in big danger?"

Hecate tapped the table with her finger.

"There's no time. The competition for seats involves a whole set of ceremonies, as well as preparing venues, negotiating with external aid, and handling logistics."

"From the initial idea to the actual implementation, it will take at least two or three months."

"By the time we finish laying out this set, the four-month digestion period will almost be over."

Dionysus shook the cup.

"What if someone is willing to go through all the trouble and insists on taking that bite?"

"Then they'll be eaten next."

Hecate's golden mask tilted to one side.

"Even if I win, I'll be crippled, and I'll still have to carry an even bigger, undigested meal on my back."

"Just sit and wait for the third table, and you can get two tables for free."

Richard sat on his stone chair, silently adding half a sentence in his mind.

...That's why Professor McFee, who is outside the rules of the game, can make his move so easily.

At this point, Hecate raised her hand.

Between the seven stone chairs, a very faint outline emerges.

"This is the shape of our table behind the curtain; it's a boat."

:

"When a person descends into the deepest realm, they rely on their own micro-circulation."

"Inspiration is the lamp, hierarchy is the rope, and the signature is the anchor."

"Even if all three are up to standard, only those who are highly proficient or above dare to proceed alone."

Richard thought of Lady Mary, a master of such skill who would only borrow cats or spirits, rarely going down to the grassroots herself.

"But a table is different."

Hecate traced the outline with her finger.

"Each of the seven god names occupies a direction, and each of you brought in... the strength of Heracles, the roots of Demeter, the intoxication of Dionysus, the fire of Prometheus, the scales of Nemesis, the staff of Hermes..."

"Seven people put their pieces together and they become a boat."

"The sturdiness of the ship depends on the resonance of the entire table, the compatibility of the divine names, and the structural strength of the ship itself."

Richard looked at the slowly rotating dim light in the center of the round table and recalled a scene from ancient Greek mythology.

When Athena built Jason's ship, she embedded an oak log cut from the sacred forest of Thodona into the bow.

That piece of wood could talk. A ship full of heroes rowed, steered the sails, competed for credit, and poisoned each other, but the piece of wood at the bow knew for itself where the entire voyage was headed.

"What's down there?" Nemesis asked directly, casting out a single line of text.

"A natural source of deep ether condensate."

Hecate turned to the red gold mask.

"Prometheus, even for your master, who is a great expert, it would be very troublesome to do these things, am I right?"

Prometheus nodded.

Hecate continued:

"It also has the origin of Silent Fern, Night Jade Stone, and Lampwick Copper."

"You can only get scraps from the middlemen, which are everywhere there."

"The original carriers of lost techniques, that's where they were first written down."

"And most importantly."

The whole table is waiting.

"The gateway to mastery lies in the deep realm."

"To climb the ranks, you are actually going down."

:

She placed her hands on the table.

"I told you last year: the moment the team fight starts, the seven chairs will be linked together."

It will lift the weakest upwards and press the strongest downwards.

"So I've been urging you to increase your resonance level all year. Today I'm telling you that these resonance levels and ranks have another role in the third stage."

Hercules asked a question.

"Chief, when are we qualified to go down?"

"When all seven of them are at a minor proficiency level," Hecate said, glancing at the two sitting at the end of the table, her words carrying a hidden meaning.

In the last few minutes before the show ended, Hecate gave a few more instructions:

The next gathering is scheduled for mid-December; no one is allowed to go far behind the curtain alone for two months; when the token is cool but not hot, the table that comes to the door has already arrived.

Richard sat on his stone chair, his mind racing.

For this boat to submerge, all seven chairs must be in place.

Now two people are missing: Nemesis and himself.

In other words, the entire table was stuck between him and Catherine if they wanted to move it down.

The man with the hair like a clump of dry straw leaned back in his dormitory chair, seemingly just making a casual remark.

"After that night, find an opportunity to pull her off."

"Three years, five years, ten years, it doesn't matter, I can wait."

At the time, he took that statement as an expert deliberately amusing himself to maintain his humanity.

Tonight, he felt that Matthew knew the inside story and was reminding him.

If this ship were to actually descend into the deep realm, all seven of them would be in the same boat.

At that time, whoever held the helm held the life and death of everyone at the table.

Richard had absolutely no trust in Hecate.

With that in mind, the next goal becomes very clear...

"Did you hear me clearly?" Hecate asked again, still concerned.

Richard and the other five responded together.

………………

:

On the morning of October 17th, it was not quiet in front of Clara's house.

Sofia couldn't sleep at all; she rushed over from her dorm right after six o'clock.

When I arrived at the place, I knocked on the door three times but no one answered, so I just walked back and forth at the bottom of the steps.

It wasn't until almost seven o'clock that the part-time maid came from the street corner carrying a shopping basket.

She was startled when she saw the light blonde girl spinning in circles in front of the steps.

"Miss, who are you?"

"I'm Clara's classmate."

"Then why didn't you knock before coming in?"

Sofia was a little embarrassed.

"What if she's still sleeping? I don't dare disturb her."

The maid went over and opened the door.

The lights in the room were still on, and Clara sat at the dining table with several sheets of paper spread out in front of her.

Sofia quickly asked, "What time did you get up?"

I didn't sleep last night.

"Clara!" Sofia exclaimed worriedly.

"I can't sleep, I can't help it."

Clara neatly folded all the papers and stuffed them into the envelope.

"After I lay down, all I could think about were the words my mentor had said to me."

In the morning, she did something that Sophia didn't quite understand.

Clara moved the violin case from the wall to the center of the living room, opened it, took out the violin, and wiped it clean again.

The rosin, fingerboard, and tuning pegs were all wiped clean, and the work was done even more carefully than before the rehearsal.

After wiping it, she put the violin back, fastened the clasp, and locked it.

Then he placed the violin case in the center of the dining table.

The location was strange; the violin case was placed there, and it was the first thing anyone who pushed open the door would see.

Sofia opened her mouth, as if to say something.

:

Richard patted her on the shoulder and shook his head lightly.

Isabella followed.

She entered the room and scanned the entire space. Seeing the violin case standing on the table, she said nothing, took an oval-shaped object from her pocket, and handed it to Clara.

Richard looked closely and discovered that it was actually a boiled egg.

"tutor……"

"Eat something. You'll be standing in the circle for hours on end. If you get hungry, who knows what problems might arise."

Clara obediently peeled the eggshell, and the shell stuck entirely to her fingers.

She seemed quite nervous; her skillful hands, usually so adept at playing the violin, ended up with their hands covered in broken eggshells from peeling.

At 6 p.m., at dusk, everyone was present on the second basement level of the Petrie Building.

"Recorder, Richard Williams."

"arrive."

"Collaboration, Sofia Hardy."

"arrive!"

"Why are you shouting so loudly?" Pendleton sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"...I'm nervous."

The narrow door, inlaid with silver thread, opened, revealing only darkness behind it.

The mudflats stretched out beneath his feet, and Richard observed them silently.

After the reinforcement was carried out in advance, the overall environment here has become more stable, and a white mark appears on the ground at the center.

For centuries, generations of scholars have stood, recited, or vomited blood in the same spot, all of which have been faithfully recorded by this shallow beach.

"The first step," Wyndham began.

He is the witness tonight, standing at the center due south.

"Testing instruments."

Otto Fafield stepped forward.

The old craftsman took out a wooden box from his pocket, opened it, and placed the brass tuning fork in the very center.

His voice was exactly the same as when he was cursing people in the workshop; he showed absolutely no politeness.

:

"Gentlemen, you are not allowed to speak while I am conducting the examination."

He rubbed his hands on his knees, then reached out and touched the indentation around the tuning fork.

"The first transformation occurred in the winter of 1911."

"The second autumn of 1912."

"The third time, on August 19th last year."

"...All three markings are present."

Richard stood at the center, slightly northeast of the center, as the recorder, his pen writing furiously in his notebook while simultaneously calculating his progress in his mind.

This morning, after measuring the third engraving on the Sphinx lamp, he found that it was already close to one-third complete.

At this rate, I hope to reach that stage next year as well.

Wyndham said, "The second step is for its host to start."

Isabella walked forward, wearing her dark gray suit today, and silently wrote in the air in front of her with her right hand.

After her aunt finished writing, Li noticed that the entire mudflat shook.

Ether circled around Isabella's hand and then closed the ritual base completely.

Greer crouched on the outer circle, Pendleton held up a lamp, and the other graduate students who came to help all moved further away.

From this moment on, whatever happens within the circle, those outside can only watch.

"It's set up." Isabella's forehead was already sweating.

"The third step is to clean the bottom."

Clara walked to the center of the circle.

She stopped in front of the circle of white marks, with her hands hanging at her sides.

"The applicant." Wyndham's voice was extremely authoritative.

"Over the years, how much of what doesn't belong to you have you accumulated?"

"Report them one by one."

"If you miss something, that thing will rot in your etheric circuit from now on."

"Yes, the circle will push you out."

Richard stood in his place and suddenly felt something was amiss. He had always thought that purification was a ritualistic formality.

:

Clara spoke quickly but clearly because she had memorized the content beforehand.

"The first thing was when I went on my first field mission with my mentor in 1910, and we borrowed..."

Richard took notes in his seat and began to calculate in his mind.

The first thing was the silver ring on her chest that had been licked.

The second item is an eagle hook.

The third item is the mask of Hermes.

The fourth item was the antler that was wrapped with the reins.

The fifth thing, a name that's been sealed away, a name that can't even be thought of...

He stopped counting here, realizing he couldn't possibly finish.

Few of the things on me are of clean origin.

Clara's voice slowed down as she spoke about recent events.

"This spring, while I was in the sanatorium, someone performed a ritual to help me breathe."

"I've gradually repaired the damaged part in my left ear and the old scars from the etheric burns on my lungs."

No one made a sound on the mudflats.

Wyndham's eyebrows twitched, while Clara's uncle scrutinized Richard repeatedly with a critical gaze.

"Cleansing complete, step four."

The old man took half a step back.

"Delivering the spirit."

Clara raised her right hand to her chest.

Richard had seen this step countless times in books and in his aunt's explanations.

But when you actually see it, all the textbook records become useless.

Clara placed her fingers on the spot directly behind her sternum.

Then she pulled it outwards, and a wisp of spirit emerged from her chest.

It's incredibly fine, thinner than a single hair, and its color is indescribable. It seems to glow, yet it doesn't illuminate anything.

The moment it emerged, Clara almost lost her balance.

:

Isabella gripped her skirt tightly, her face turning pale along with her student's.

The old craftsman stood to the north, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Sofia stood on tiptoe, looking extremely anxious.

Clara held the wisp of spirit in her palm and sent it forward. The spirit then hovered above the center of the circle, about a foot above the brass tuning fork.

The mudflats were eerily quiet.

This is a person taking out their most crucial part and holding it in mid-air for the curtain to see.

Undefended, unconcealed, and irretrievable.

That wisp of spirit swayed in mid-air.

The darkness in the shallows began to flow.

From deeper within the veil, many unruly and evil creatures simultaneously turned in this direction.

They are waiting, waiting for her to speak.

Clara stood in the center and lowered her hands.

She looked up and saw the brown-haired, gray-eyed young man standing due northeast, holding a pen, ready to take notes at any moment.

Then, she spoke.

"All that has been passed down through human hands is incomplete."

Her voice wasn't loud at all, but when it landed on this shallow beach, every word seemed to solidify.

The evil creatures and wandering spirits waiting beneath the shallows were unwilling to be pushed apart from the middle.

I did not bring anything new with me.

Clara declared:

"Do not dig graves that no one has dug, do not walk on roads that no one has walked, and do not add a single word to this world."

"I will simply return everything that I already have to its rightful place."

She took half a step forward.

That half step landed precisely on that circle of four-hundred-year-old, worn-out marks.

"Therefore I stand here: between falsehood and truth."

"To be with that sound that has not yet been lost."

:

"m na v va mant, t. (As long as there is one true sound left, I will stand.)"

Nothing happened on the mudflats.

one second.

two seconds.

Isabella stood on the circle, her fingers digging into her palms inside her sleeves.

The old craftsman took half a step forward, but Wyndham raised his hand to stop him.

In the third second, Richard sensed that the ether beneath the entire narrow gate had aligned at the same moment.

It was unlike any surge he had witnessed during his year of fieldwork.

Every wisp of ether in the entire area, from the outermost ring of rough work from nine years ago to the places he couldn't see below, and even the scattered fragments floating on the mudflats... all tuned to the same frequency at the same time.

It was exactly the same as the standard pitch produced by that tuning fork.

Richard's stillness was revealed in that instant.

Above the center of the circle, next to the wisp of spirit that was suspended, a line of words appeared.

It was there; it was always meant to be there.

Richard didn't recognize the language.

[Knowledge & General Knowledge] They went through the existing thousands of records, but those were not descendants of any particular branch.

He could read the structure; the skeleton of this line was very simple.

The preceding paragraph describes the location.

The following section contains items from the same industry.

Use a word to connect them in the middle, and that word means "to be the same as".

Richard suddenly felt his thoughts flow smoothly.

Clara just said:

"I stand between falsehood and truth."

"To be with that sound that has not yet been lost."

Place; things that travel together.

She was using the first person, but when the curtain copied it down, it was automatically translated into the third person.

:

"...those who..."

...standing atop the cloud trails, one with the wind;

...walking on a road of no return, sharing the same path as those who came from;

...sitting atop ten thousand scrolls, one who shares the ancient history with written inscriptions;

...galloping across the roadless wilderness, its hooves moving in unison with the wind;

...submerged in the gap between the two seas, swirling with the Gulf Stream;

...encircling the beginning of ten thousand cities, sharing the same foundation as the walls.

This format—place followed by items in the same category—is almost identical!

The announcement of the promotion ceremony for Junior Proficiency is the foundation of the honorable name!

: