Chapter 7: Ornament

Leike Dun followed the captain, winding through many twists and turns until they reached the basement of a building behind the library.

"This building is where we usually work; outwardly it's a newspaper and writers' association tower. Don't be too surprised—its staff are all members of the church, and the main publication they run is the Clock Tower Academic Gazette," Captain Yi Kangton said as he walked.

"Many church members need to publish academic papers or articles, so the church simply founded its own newspaper. These papers and books circulate across the North and South continents and the seas. Of course, the most popular regions are Luenburg, Maixi, and Fenebote. If you have such needs, you can try it; the church's internal review standards are a bit lower," Captain Yi Kangton added, noticing Leike Dun's curiosity.

"Newspaper? Writers' Association?" Leike Dun whispered, repeating the two words.

"That may be related to a future promotion ceremony of some Sequence," Leike Dun guessed in his mind.

"Don't be too surprised. Our church differs from the other six True God churches; the Knowledge Church is essentially a large academy formed by people who love scholarship and knowledge," Captain Yi Kangton explained briefly.

Leike Dun inexplicably felt the description was apt; aside from the Knowledge Church, no other church spends all day reading, studying, and publishing papers, and most universities lack that atmosphere.

"We've arrived!" Captain Yi Kangton stopped in front of a stone door covered with strange symbols.

"Captain? What is this place? A morgue?" Leike Dun asked uncertainly, recalling that his captain had previously said a member of the Morse Ascetic Society was already a corpse.

"Morgue? Why would you think that? This isn't a hospital, there's no morgue here! This is an evidence room. If we didn't want you to see it for possible extra insight, we would have disposed of the body long ago; after all, that corpse is already so damaged it's unrecognizable," Captain Yi Kangton said.

After speaking, Captain Yi Kangton approached, reached out, and pushed the door open, adding, "The runes painted on this door mainly block outside eyes, identify those who open it, and protect the interior environment."

"Hmm, these runes are completely incomprehensible," Leike Dun said, staring at the stone door for a while before concluding that he couldn't understand the symbols at all.

"Haha! That's normal—you haven't studied this field. These runes are a variant of Dragon Tongue, which itself carries power. The church modified this ancient race's language to create a unique rune system," Captain Yi Kangton explained with a laugh.

"Dragons? Do such creatures really exist? What do they look like? Are they like the ones described in novels and picture books?" Leike Dun asked curiously.

Although he knew a dragon race existed in this world, Leike Dun had never seen one; whether as Leike Dun or as Luo Yang, he was extremely curious about dragons.

"Perhaps roughly so? Even rumors of chasing shadows have some basis. However, dragons have long vanished from people's sight; I've never seen one either. It's said the church does have dragons, likely at the church headquarters in Luenburg," Captain Yi Kangton admitted his knowledge of dragons was limited.

"The church actually has dragons!" Leike Dun's voice involuntarily rose.

Though shocked that the Knowledge Church housed dragons, he recalled that the deity of knowledge and wisdom is itself a dragon, once a celestial dragon under Angelweid in ancient times, so it makes sense that the Knowledge Church would contain a few dragons.

While Leike Dun was still reeling from the dragon revelation, Captain Yi Kangton had already moved to a long table where a black cloak lay, its interior bulging with unknown fragments that made the fabric uneven.

"Are you ready?" Captain Yi Kangton asked.

"Huh? Ready." Leike Dun replied, a bit bewildered.

"Huh~" Yi Kangton lifted the black cloak, revealing charred, jet‑black meat chunks. Dark‑red blood on their surfaces had long coagulated; the pieces varied in size but were all relatively small, making it hard to tell which parts they were.

"Ugh!" Leike Dun felt nauseated, especially as his mind involuntarily visualized and pieced together the original forms of those meat chunks. Normally unafraid of such things, he now felt sick.

Leike Dun quickly averted his gaze; after a while, the disgusting images stopped resurfacing in his mind.

"Are you scared?" Captain Yi Kangton walked over, patting Leike Dun's shoulder, which eased the mental discomfort considerably.

"Not scared. But the subconscious flashes of reconstructing and piecing together those meat chunks are disgusting."

"That's the instinct of a Sequence Eight deduction trainee. You must learn to restrain and adapt; you can't react like this every time. It's tolerable in normal circumstances, but in combat it would be deadly," Captain Yi Kangton explained.

"Mm, I understand." After calming down, Leike Dun shifted his gaze again. With the previous experience, he deliberately suppressed the urge to imagine the meat chunks, and this time no such images resurfaced.

"Mm, that's good; it shows you've mastered that extraordinary trait well. If your condition weren't unique, I think you could soon apply to become a Guardian of Knowledge of Sequence Seven," Captain Yi Kangton remarked on Leike Dun's state.

"But captain, this isn't even a corpse anymore, is it? Only these few meat chunks remain, charred, to the point where you can't even tell what creature they came from!" Though he had temporarily quelled his mind's automatic filling‑in, Leike Dun was powerless before the pile of meat; after all, he was just an unstable Sequence Eight.

"There's no choice. He's a Scroll Professor of Sequence Six. If his condition weren't off, we'd have a hard time dealing with him, and in combat we couldn't preserve an intact corpse," Yi Kangton explained.

"Captain, what Path does the Sequence Six Scroll Professor belong to? Is it powerful?" Leike Dun showed his curiosity, hoping to have a proper source for the knowledge he might need later.

"It belongs to the Seeker of Secrets Path. Extraordinary beings on this path are influenced by the Hidden Sage of the Evil God, making them prone to losing control. This path is mainly held by the cult organization Morse Ascetic Society and by Elemental Dawn, who leads the mysterious queen—one of the Four Sea Kings," Captain Yi Kangton gave a brief overview of the Seeker of Secrets Path.

"Both are groups not recognized by the True God churches; you must be extra cautious if you encounter them. You've already met a member of the Morse Ascetic Society, so you should understand," Yi Kangton warned Leike Dun to be wary of extraordinary beings on this path.

"Mm!" Leike Dun responded with a cautious nod.

Although the original work features the Morse Ascetic Society only sparingly, mostly in descriptions of the Star‑above General Jadriya, it is known as an organization that worships the Hidden Sage of the Evil God.

Having recalled his own memories and learned additional information from the Knowledge Church, Leike Dun deeply understood why the Morse Ascetic Society is labeled a cult. Though it doesn't cause terror like the Aurora Guild, it's far from benign.

"Does the Morse Ascetic Society have any other relics, captain?" Leike Dun thought the captain wouldn't bring him here just to look at unidentifiable meat, so he asked.

A rare smile appeared on Yi Kangton's face as he replied, "Yes, that's part of why I brought you here. The Morse Ascetic Society member indeed left several relics; the one you need to examine is an ornament. A seal artifact's prophecy says that contacting it will grant you extra information, which is why I called you."

"Seal artifact?" Leike Dun was curious about this prophetic seal artifact; its foresight likely corresponds to Sequence Four of the Reader Path, or perhaps Sequence Three of the Seeker of Secrets Path.

"Indeed. When an extraordinary trait merges with an object, or when an extraordinary being dies, it can form an item with extraordinary abilities. Such items usually carry severe negative effects; we call them seal artifacts and classify them by danger level. The prophetic seal artifact is high‑level, beyond your current comprehension. Once your clearance rises, you can consult the relevant data," Yi Kangton explained in detail.

"I see," Leike Dun nodded.

"Alright, come take a look. The strange ornament is right here," Captain Yi Kangton said, pulling the black cloak back over the fragmented Morse Ascetic Society member.

He walked to a nearby shelf, grabbed a package, and selected a uniquely shaped ornament from inside.

The ornament was entirely bright copper, about the size of a baby's palm; its design resembled a circular ring of interwoven lines filled with gears, with a sleeveless vertical eye in the center, and a thin silver chain attached.

"What's this?" Leike Dun furrowed his brow, searching his memory but finding no recollection of anything related to this pattern.

"We don't know either. You can take a look; we've already inspected it. No mysterious elements remain on the ornament, so you can rest assured. It doesn't correspond to any known ritual or entity, so it's harmless," Yi Kangton handed the bright‑copper ornament to Leike Dun.

Leike Dun examined it carefully several times, confirming he truly had no impression; neither his Leike Dun nor Luo Yang memories contained anything related to it.

He shook his head and handed the ornament back.

Captain Yi Kangton didn't take it, instead saying, "Keep it for now. Since the prophecy says you'll gain some information, it should be correct—perhaps the timing isn't right. Though we've confirmed it's harmless, you still need to be cautious and watch for any unexpected factors in your life."

"We've lost a lot of time today. You can go home now; starting tomorrow you'll need to report here daily. You have no missions for now, so stay with Mr. Ke Si, study diligently, and make up the missed Reader‑stage accumulation," Captain Yi Kangton nodded slightly, indicating Leike Dun could leave.

(End of Chapter)