Chapter 57: Sorting and Summarizing

Chapter 57: Sorting and Summarizing

Pausing for a moment, Klein continued to write

"The essence of solving the potion problem is digestion, not mastery; this can be understood intuitively."

"Mastery is merely treating the potion's power as an external tool, a tamed beast. No matter how well or skillfully one masters it, it still does not truly belong to oneself, and the risk of backlash is high. Digestion, however, is treating the consumed potion as a part of oneself—decomposing it, merging with it, and absorbing it, unifying them into a whole."

"There is no doubt about this for now. The key is why 'acting' helps with digestion."

"Based on today's experience as a Seer, I will first propose two hypotheses and wait for further verification."

"First, acting according to the potion's name can change the state of the body, mind, and soul, allowing them to gradually approach the stubborn residual spirituality at the core of the potion, thereby creating resonance and assimilating and absorbing it bit by bit."

"Second, the stubborn residual spirituality at the potion's core is like a well-defended computer mainframe. To invade it, break through it, and dismantle it, one must find a BUG, find a loophole, or find a key. The potion's name reveals the corresponding clues. Thus, through acting, one can harmonize the body, mind, and soul, disguising oneself as an 'insider' to fool the 'guards' and walk in boldly. This line of thought is somewhat similar to Emperor Roselle's description."

"Regardless of which hypothesis is correct, the state of the body, mind, and soul is an unavoidable factor, as they are the only bridge between 'acting' and the potion's power."

Klein put down his fountain pen and read the passage once more, momentarily feeling a desire to thank the exam-oriented education provided by the Great Foodie Empire.

Regardless, whether one chose the sciences or engineering, basic logical reasoning was still possessed; otherwise, one wouldn't be able to become a "keyboard expert" or perform such analysis and speculation.

"Acting might indeed be effective; specific changes remain to be observed," Klein made a periodic summary.

Immediately following, he wrote down the second question

"A strange description: why is it that a 'Seer' is more erudite and professional in the field of mysticism, yet lacks direct means to defeat an enemy? Shouldn't erudition and professionalism make a 'Seer' stronger and better able to discover ways to win?"

"Analysis of the reasons is as follows:"

"First, much like the web novels I've read before, I have transmigrated into a game world that has become reality. Therefore, different 'professions' must each have their own characteristics and remain relatively balanced. However, so far, I have found no signs of datafication or mission-based progression; this factor is temporarily suspended, as the possibility may be extremely low."

"Second, the underlying rule of this world is balance; the Creator created this place with balance as the core."

"Third, potions of the same sequence exist at the same energy level. This is the optimal state discovered and summarized by predecessors. Exceeding this energy level makes one prone to collapse and loss of control, while being too far below it makes it impossible to obtain the desired Beyonder powers. Therefore, given a certain energy level, being stronger in one aspect naturally means being weaker in another."

"Fourth, all things share the same origin, having diverged from the Creator; they are all fragments of the Creator. The implication of being complementary to one another is that each possesses its own flaws."

"I currently lean toward the third and fourth reasons, but the latter is derived from uncertain mythology and can only serve as a reference."

"I will use the third reason as a guide for now, verifying it through current learning and subsequent discoveries."

By this point, Klein had filled two entire pages, but he did not stop. He picked up his pen again to sort out new problems

"From today's learning, my 'Luck-Changing Ritual' belongs to typical ritual magic."

"Similar ritual magic can be divided into three parts: the first is the sacrificial part used to please or arouse the interest of the corresponding existence; the second is the incantation part that describes the specific object of prayer; and the third is the substantive part regarding what help is desired, which needs to be clarified using formatted corresponding language and certain symbolic symbols."

"Starting from this, analyzing the 'Luck-Changing Ritual' reveals an obvious problem: it lacks the third part!"

"It has the sacrificial part, such as placing staple foods and walking four steps counter-clockwise to form a square; it also has the incantation part that indicates the direction of the prayer, such as 'Blessed Immortal of the Profound Yellow,' etc."

"But its follow-up is merely closing one's eyes and waiting, without describing the purpose of the ritual as changing luck."

"In other words, regarding what this so-called 'Luck-Changing Ritual' wants to pray for, the corresponding existence has no idea at all and can only act freely... act freely..."

"What a scam! That damn 'Summary of Qin and Han Secret Arts' is such a rip-off!"

"My brain must have been filled with water at the time for me to think of trying it..."

Klein stopped his pen, took two breaths, and tried his best to calm himself down.

*Whew.* He exhaled a breath of turbid air and continued his sorting

"Considering redesigning this ritual to make it complete, with the goal of prayer being to return to Earth, to the world where my parents and relatives are located."

"Then the question arises: is that existence truly acting freely? Or does it imply a deeper purpose?"

"Furthermore, is the existence pointed to by the descriptive incantation on Earth the same existence pointed to in this world?"

"If they are the same, the difference between the effects of the first and second rituals can be explained as acting freely. But if the second and third rituals both allow one to reach above the gray fog and connect to 'Justice' and 'The Hanged Man' with almost no difference, then what is the reason?"

"Once the fourth ritual tomorrow afternoon proves it can be stably repeated, it will mean the effect is solidified, meaning the goal of the prayer is implied in a step I do not yet understand. If that is the case, adding new descriptions or new prayers will not receive a clear response; it might even make the ritual chaotic and produce bad results."

"Does the difference between the first and subsequent rituals, assuming the object of the ritual prayer remains unchanged, mean that the world one is in leads to different responses? Like using different interfaces..."

"Then how should I design it to achieve the effect I want?"

"If I assume the existences pointed to by the first and the subsequent two are different, then some of the previous questions can be perfectly explained. But similarly, the stability and invariance of the second and third rituals imply an implied prayer goal, making it temporarily impossible to start changing things."

"The most crucial point: who exactly is the existence being pointed to, where is He, and why is there no hint or guidance for me?"

"Is He in the depths of that gray fog world?"

"Wait, could I treat Him as a sleeping existence, providing a certain amount of stimulation to obtain a fixed feedback, and otherwise, He will not interfere with or affect me?"

"Then I can design different rituals to stimulate Him and summarize the patterns of feedback, eventually finding the correct way to return."

"But the problem is, if He is not sleeping, all these probes could lead to terrible things happening. It is extremely dangerous."

"The first probe must be cautious enough; the design must avoid provoking..."

"What a headache. This awaits further study."

Klein sighed and gave his conclusion.

Afterward, he recorded other scattered things

"There are always invisible voices echoing in my ears, screaming 'Hornacis' and, um, is the pronunciation 'Feilagla' or 'Fregla'?"

"Hornacis is the mountain range spanning the Loen Kingdom and the Intis Republic, with its main peak reaching over six thousand meters."

"According to the notes of the Antigonus family, during the Fourth Epoch, there was a Land of Night there. Land of Night, Evernight Goddess—is there a relationship between the two? Followers, or hostile forces? Was the destruction of the Antigonus family by the Church of the Evernight Goddess due to the Land of Night?"

"Are the whispers I hear from that notebook, from the screams of the Antigonus family lasting one or two thousand years?"

"Feilagla, um, Fregla—what does that represent as well?"

"An interesting question: the fact that they could leave such notes and Sealed Artifact 2-049 implies the Antigonus family possessed quite powerful Beyonder powers. So, which Sequence pathway did they hold? Complete, or incomplete?"

"The discovery of the notes in Riel Bieber's hands is a bit coincidental, yet there is no trace of orchestration. Is it truly a fated bond?"

...

One thought after another fell to the pen as Klein wrote freely about the events he had encountered during this period and his own speculations.

He wrote for a full four pages, both front and back.

*Rip!* Klein suddenly tore off these four pages, read them several times from beginning to end, occasionally circling points with his pen or adding a few sentences.

Time flew by. The red moon was briefly obscured by dark clouds. Klein picked up the pocket watch on the table, clicked it open, and took a glance.

He put the watch down, took a box of matches from the drawer, struck one with a *swish*, and brought it close to the four pages of notes.

The orange-red flame bit into the paper, spreading rapidly.

Klein placed the four pages of notes into the wooden trash can and watched the ashes float down.

He released his fingers, letting the paper fall. In just over ten seconds, everything had vanished, leaving only the slightly swirling ashes and the scorch marks at the bottom of the wooden bucket to tell the tale of the past.

Because Emperor Roselle's secret diary existed, Klein did not dare leave any evidence that he could write Chinese—if Old Neil and the others discovered those four pages just now, things would become complicated.

And when writing classified matters, whether using Loenese, Ancient Fyssak, or Hermes, Klein worried that the one watching him in his dreams might see and interpret the content. Therefore, he used Chinese to write, sort, and summarize, and once the task was completed, he burned the paper to leave no trace.

Precisely because he could not preserve them, he set a plan for himself: to summarize once a week to avoid forgetting.

Watching the ashes settle completely, Klein pulled out a blank sheet of paper and wrote at the top

"Respected Mentor:"

He intended to write a letter to ask Associate Professor Cohen Quentin if he had any historical materials related to the main peak of Hornacis.