Miss Witch's Forbidden Book Secret

"Before the teacher died, he left the Book of Transformation in the Great Clock Tower, saying that it would be given to whoever presided over his funeral. So Senior Rexsa wants to complete the funeral ceremony as soon as possible, but Senior Jeremiah feels that we shouldn't publicize the teacher's death like this..."

"Wait, you mean the ceremony?"

Tia grasped the key point.

Funerals are certainly a supernatural ritual, involving death, rebirth, reproduction, and many other aspects of life, but that was in the very, very ancient times. The hammer of the sacred number 3 stipulated the rule: when the hammer falls, the sea level rises and falls. The sea level in the deep sea has been declining over time; these supernatural rituals of the past have been demystified and transformed into folk customs.

Therefore, the ceremony here does not refer to a grand funeral with gongs and drums, but rather a special, extraordinary ceremony.

Marne said, “Yes. The teacher said that one of the four of us is a traitor, and only the person who finds the traitor can preside over this funeral.”

This connects the dots.

Tia seemed to understand something. This nightmare began with a funeral, so it should end with a funeral. That's the rule of the Ouroboros: it begins where it begins and ends where it ends.

But who is the traitor?

Hard to say.

This is too much trouble—Tia isn't a puzzle solver; she only plays the "door-kicking" type in tabletop RPGs.

Tia returned the ice cream to Maen, who breathed a sigh of relief and happily picked it up, eating it without a care in the world. He then handed Tia another one.

Tia joined in the eating.

Since things have come to this, let's eat some ice cream first.

Chapter 194 Not the Hero Sulph

"So where is the Book of Transformation?"

Tia led little Marn around the clock tower and suddenly asked a question.

Marn asked, bewildered, "Senior, why are you asking this?"

"Don't ask questions, kid. I'm asking you a question."

"It's on the very top floor... Oh dear! Senior, please don't tell Rex and Jeremiah!"

"Okay, okay."

"Please don't tell me, or I'm doomed. I might get expelled from the school."

You'll be expelled from the school sooner or later...

Upon hearing this, Tia patted her chest and said in a serious tone, "Wouldn't it be alright if I took action?"

Marn looked up suspiciously.

"real or fake?"

"Of course it's true, you can completely trust me! Why would I steal the Book of Transformation?"

Although Marn felt that Tia's words were somewhat insincere, he still believed her.

Also!

Even if Senior Sister Sulf is incredibly bold, could she really steal the Book of Transformation? Probably not.

Tia reminded her, "I heard Marn say you live here, right? If anyone comes to the clock tower, keep an eye on them. Our teacher just passed away, so be careful not to let any thugs sneak in."

"There are still thugs here!?"

Marn was startled.

This statement is indeed startling. The core area of ​​Mistmoon City consists of the Tower District, the Fontaine Palace District, and the Castle District. The Tower District is home to the Great Clock Tower, located within the St. Pantheon Academy University. Originally, it served as the watchtower and morning bell tower for Fontaine Palace, but was later taken over by alchemists, and then became the residence of the president of the Alchemy Society.

There's no way a criminal could possibly appear in a place like this!

Tia laughed it off and wandered around upstairs and downstairs.

The entire clock tower is divided into seven levels. The top level houses Ulrich's observatory and workshops, but it is now cursed and inaccessible. Entry must wait until the funeral is completed.

The fifth and sixth floors were studies, housing a large collection of occult texts gathered by Ulrich. Tia went to look around, only to find they were all images; she couldn't open them at all. Marn could open them, but when she dictated the contents, they sounded like a roast goose recipe to her...

Knowledge is the only real thing in a nightmare. It seems Ulrich, when designing the nightmare, didn't even bother to create the corresponding assets...

The third and fourth floors are workshops and storage rooms, the second floor is a meeting room, and the first floor has two living rooms.

Tia ransacked all four floors. Although she didn't find any knowledge, she did manage to gather quite a few other temporary equipment and items.

First, there's a small top hat adorned with three peacock feathers. Wearing this hat instantly makes the wearer the center of attention. Removing the feathers, however, causes the wearer to vanish from sight without any apparent disturbance.

Then there was an overly ornate elephant gun, with a caliber larger than a normal elephant gun, reaching 14.5mm. The gun barrel was engraved with five outstretched fingers, and in the center of the palm was an inverted triangle, signifying "transformation." The symbol of the Hand of Transformation is also based on this simplification, and its extraordinary power is unknown.

There was also a golden lamp and a short sword.

The golden lamp was made entirely of gold and was very heavy. It was originally placed at the top of the stairs leading to the rooftop to provide lighting. However, with Tia's suggestion that "since no one goes up to the rooftop anyway, let's just take the lamp down," little Marn was forced by Tia to be a laborer and move the lamp.

The short sword was only 44 centimeters long, double-edged, and more like a dagger than a "sword." The blade was quite simple, but it was quite sharp and very small, small enough to be hidden in Jeremiah's laurel wreath.

In addition, there was a small bag of iris blossoms, some cakes and desserts sprinkled with excessive sugar, two bottles of bubbly fruit juice, and a large loaf of bread as hard as an iron rod...

After Tia finished exploring several floors, little Marn felt an unprecedented sense of disorientation at the emptiness of the clock tower when she went upstairs.

Everything's gone!

All my candies have disappeared! Where are the dozen or so gold shields I hid while working?

After this act of bravery in the village, Tia determined that there was nothing left to scrape on the clock tower. She then told Marn, put on her top hat, put away her elephant gun and short sword, and left the clock tower.

......................

Outside the clock tower is the University of St. Pantheon, a school founded by the Alchemist Society to train alchemists.

Tia bought a newspaper at the school newsstand to confirm the date—November 15th, 511 AD, which is 24 years ago in the real world.

After confirming the time, Tia went to the school's small chapel.

This church was the residence of Ulrich in later years, and also the place that Rexar mentioned earlier, where Ulrich requested to move to in his will.

Upon arriving at the church, Tia was startled to see Rexsa praying.

After thinking about it again, it seems reasonable.

Iris is an atheistic country—but this atheism is not the kind commonly found in other countries around the world, which leans more towards freedom of religion. Iris's atheism is a pure, unadulterated form of religious atheism.

In a country like this, it's impossible for a church to exist. Even the explanation that it was for Ulrich to live in is far-fetched. Ulrich himself did not have a strong faith.

If it was built by Rexsa, then that makes sense.

Ulrich's top student, "Black Robe" Rexar, was known for his faith in the Father of All Things and his support for the restoration of the Church. He was even exiled by the Iris authorities when he chose to leave the Iris.

Inside the chapel, you can see the Virgin Mary with her arms outstretched, embracing the world as soon as you enter.

Holding a silver cross, Rexa prayed three times before the statue of the Virgin Mary, sprinkling holy water. Without turning around, he said in a deep voice, "Tia, why did you suddenly come here? I told you, the situation is very dangerous. I don't know who the traitor the teacher mentioned is. Even assuming Jeremiah isn't, he must have something to do with it."

Tia followed up, saying, "Is she not normal?"

“Normal? I’ve never seen anyone who has taken the path of the moth remain normal. The greatest folly of the moth is that it cannot distinguish between light and death.”

"Can't understand."

Tia genuinely didn't understand. She was basically self-taught in the occult.

Rex chuckled hoarsely. "In any case, when this ritual begins, a sacrifice is inevitable. The greatest mystery of the Book of Transformation isn't the substitution of the four elements; that's a low-level skill that any substitution scholar can master. True transformation can interfere with the levels of fate, time, and reality. Jeremiah needs this book to complete Sequence 3. But precisely because of this, the Book of Transformation cannot be given to Jeremiah. Otherwise, He will truly go astray."

"But Jeremiah definitely doesn't want you to have it! Senior, you have to be careful! I will definitely support you!"

Tia made a sweet remark.

Rexsa said with relief, "You don't need to worry about that. Jeremiah doesn't have the ability to deal with me yet, let alone in the church. I'd be letting him off easy if I didn't take him down here. This church is secluded on all sides, and no one would even notice if I took him down."

"Besides, even if Jeremiah were to defeat me, he wouldn't obtain the Secret Text—the Secret Text involves another layer of ritual from the teacher. That truly utilizes the Book of Transformation, interfering with a higher-level ritual. You can rest assured about that."

Upon hearing this, Tia seemed to be deep in thought.

Actually, the traitor is easy to find. It's either Rexar, Jeremiah, or Marn—just these three. It can't be Tia herself, can it?

She herself doesn't even know she's a traitor!

Thinking of this, Tia suddenly heard a slippery, damp hissing sound like a snake.

[A ritual ostensibly a funeral, but in reality a conflict over traitors and secret texts, is already brewing among the successors of the Alchemy Society.]

[As a non-existent third party, you were previously entangled and cursed by Ulrich, and are now caught in this conflict that is destined to end in bloodshed.]

To stir up conflict or to heal divisions?

Fighting a fire is a noble act of folly; the flames, therefore, learn to tremble.

[Gain temporary ritual: Transformation Ritual (When you die, the Nightmare timer is reset. When you die, you pay 10% of your Soul Strength)]

[Temporary Ritual Obtained: The Person Who Does Not Exist (Your soul strength is fixed at its current level. All your information is erased during nightmares)]

[Temporary Ritual Acquired: The History of Forging (You have been given a new identity, which is only valid for the current time)]

[Promotion Task (Required):]

【①Kill the traitor】

【② Obtain the Book of Transformation】

Chapter 195 Black-Robed Rexar

“You can stay away from Jeremiah for a while—and of course, stay away from me too. This is a conflict between the two of us; let’s not escalate it.”

Lexar, clutching the crucifix, prayed devoutly before the statue of the Virgin Mary, then turned to Tia without turning his head and said, "Aren't you leaving yet?"

"Senior, are you really safe here? I don't see even a security guard..."

Tia looked around the chapel; it was indeed very enclosed. Although there were windows, they were all pixelated. The walls were also very thick. Someone could probably die inside without anyone outside noticing.

Rexar said, "True security is not about how many guards there are."

"But if you die here, no one will even collect your body!"

"......"

Rexar was speechless, choked by the words.

After a moment, Rexar said:

"The Palace of Fontainebleau has more than a thousand guards, yet the citizens of the Frostmoon still come and go as they please. Jeremiah's moth is most dangerous in two ways: one is its endless transformations, which are almost beyond the realm of humanity, and there is nowhere that can stop it; the second is its ruthless indifference, which is almost in line with the serpent's, and it can ignore all kinds of rituals at the cost of its own feelings and memories."

"But His danger lies in the way of the moth, and His absurdity also lies in the way of the moth. He is not a scholar of transformation and substitution who specializes in transformation and substitution, but a great philosopher of sublimation."

"That's even funnier. He's not really good at the ways of moths. So light will weaken him, and flames will harm him. But here I'm well-lit, so there's no need to worry."

Tia asked doubtfully, "The words of great philosophers focus more on sublimation, right? Why does Senior Jeremiah want to follow the path of the moth of change and even want the Book of Transformation?"

"because......"

Rexar was about to speak when he sighed deeply and said, "Don't dwell on these issues too much."

"Alright then. By the way, senior, I found a lot of good stuff. Let me see it."

Tia gave Rexsa the hat, short sword, and other odds and ends she had scraped from the clock tower, intending to have them appraised.

Without identifying the entry or unlocking it, she had no idea what this thing was for...

Rexar picked up the hat and looked at it, saying, "This is a top hat that our teacher ordered before he passed away, but the tailor probably mixed up the styles and made it into a small women's hat. Marn wore it before. How did it end up with you?"

"That kid gave it to me."

Tia was talking nonsense.

Rexar suddenly realized, "I see. I left this pistol there. It's not much different from a normal elephant gun, except that it has a slight suppressive effect on Jeremiah's moths. I remember putting it on the sixth floor. You didn't take the golden lamp there, did you?"

Tia shook her head. "I don't know."

This is a lie.

"That's good."

"Is that lamp special?"

"No, it's nothing."

Tia made a mental note of it.

This kind of information is usually considered key information.

Rexar glanced at the short sword in Tia's hand, his gaze sharpening slightly. "This...where did you get this?"