Chapter 14: Four Elements

The two arrived on the second floor, which was also covered in dust. Instead of heading to the third floor, they looked toward the corridor. One side of the corridor had windows, while the other side was lined with a row of rooms. The main building of the sanatorium was U-shaped, and the two were currently in the center of the long side.

The doctor said:

"Miracle. If you can engrave the 【Miracle】 spirit rune, it will definitely be a golden spirit rune. All 【Miracles】 come from the stories and powers of gods. Remember, the five Great Orthodox Gods are the only remaining benevolent gods."

"The only remaining ones?"

Xia De was very good at grasping the key points, and he also understood the reason for his first contact with "Miracle."

"Yes, many gods existed in past eras. If you join the Academy, this part of the content is in the basic courses of the School of Theology. But most of the powerful gods of the past have disappeared—perhaps fallen, perhaps departed, or perhaps sealed. But in any case, only these five benevolent gods remain here, known as the Orthodox Gods. Moreover, gods can interfere with the material world; they are not just symbols. Do not treat them as powerful Ringed Shushi; they are truly high-dimensional existences... I hope you understand what I mean."

The corners of Xia De's mouth twitched; of course, he understood.

"Ringed Shushi of the Orthodox Churches mostly specialize in the 【Miracle】 element. But besides the Orthodox Gods, the Old Gods of the past have left many traces in the world. By contacting those traces and knowing the stories of the Old Gods, with the help of the 'other me,' one can also extract 【Miracle】 spirit runes."

The doctor finally mentioned the "voice in the head" that is essential for Ringed Shushi.

"The voice in your head is actually another you. It is not the real you, but it is indeed you."

The doctor emphasized this concept again, and the woman's laughter came from Xia De's mind once more.

"This is the 【Miracle】 spirit rune I engraved when I was at the First Ring."

White dense fog appeared behind the doctor again, a part of his brass-colored destiny ring was revealed, and a golden spirit rune emerged.

Xia De also resisted the pain in his temples to interpret the rune; its meaning was 【Dust】, which he had just seen once before.

"The miracle left behind by the Old God 【God of Dust】, also known as the 【World Serpent】, is what I learned about through the Academy's channels, and thus I obtained the spirit rune."

That golden light flickered and shone on the ground in front of them, and a string of footprints appeared before the two:

"But I am not suited for this miracle, having only developed such a simple wonder. The power developed from spirit runes is called a wonder, while the general power of Ringed Shushi is called a spell. This point will be introduced in the courses."

The two followed the footprints forward; it seemed the target was on the second floor.

"But you must remember, gods are dangerous. It is not that they have malice toward humans, but that their own status is too high. Contacting any information related to gods may cause one to suffer harm due to the pressure of the gods' essence. It is just like how looking directly at the sun will injure your eyes."

The doctor reminded him, then said:

"Profanity. If you can engrave the 【Profanity】 spirit rune, it will definitely be a silver spirit rune. All 【Profanity】 comes from those filthy concepts and Evil Gods. But remember, it is not the five Great Orthodox Gods, nor those vanished Old Gods, but the existing Old Gods."

Among the Old Gods that have survived to the present, besides the five powerful benevolent gods, there are a small number of Evil Gods. But these gods are relatively weak; they are terrible things born from concepts and profanity. They are truly gods, recognized by the Orthodox Churches. It is just that their power is far weaker than the Orthodox Gods."

"This is not the Orthodox Churches boasting, but a fact."

"In other words, the Orthodox Gods are recognized and existing powerful benevolent gods, while the Old Gods are benevolent gods that have already vanished, evil gods, and the existing Evil Gods. Are Evil Gods very terrifying?"

Xia De summarized.

"Of course they are terrifying. Although they are relatively weaker than the five Orthodox Gods, for ordinary people, even knowing their power will cause them to go mad. The main task of the Church is to suppress the occasionally appearing Evil Gods and the ever-present evil cultists. But the 【Profanity】 spirit rune is not excluded; besides Evil Gods, some knowledge from the Fourth Era can also extract 【Profanity】. Secretive books record those terrible stories. This is also the mainstream way to extract the 【Profanity】 element. Both 【Miracle】 and 【Profanity】 are related to gods, and they must be related to gods."

It is currently the Sixth Era, a point not recorded in any of the books Xia De had seen; books and calendars only recorded the year. But Xia De knew it was the Sixth Era; when the voice in his brain first appeared, it had stated this point.

This seemed to once again illustrate the other party's special nature.

"Now is the Sixth Era, while the Fourth Era was an era of darkness and chaos, very terrifying, abnormally terrifying..."

The doctor said in a low voice, as if afraid of disturbing some existence. In the dense fog behind him, a silver spirit rune flickered, still only revealing a part of the destiny ring. Xia De interpreted that beautiful rune as 【Emotion】.

"【Emotion】, a quite powerful spirit rune, originated from a terrible story of the Fourth Era that I still cannot forget... I have developed this element into various wonders, the simplest of which is to detect creatures with emotions in the vicinity."

Silver light flickered on the brass destiny ring, and the doctor had the answer:

"Inside, he is in fear; it seems he knows we have come."

It was impossible for the enemy not to know; the doctor had no intention of hiding his voice at all.

"If the voice in your brain keeps reminding you that there is 【Profanity】 nearby, do not think, turn around and run immediately. This kind of element is extremely fatal."

The doctor continued to popularize basic knowledge as he and Xia De continued forward. Xia De also understood why he had only not come into contact with "Profanity."

"Enlightenment. If you can engrave the 【Enlightenment】 spirit rune, it will definitely be a brass-colored spirit rune. All 【Enlightenment】 comes from civilization itself. Yes, civilization—historical legends, religious and heroic stories, and even fictional knight adventure novels can extract 【Enlightenment】 through certain media. This is the element of civilization, symbolizing the light of our world."

Although it sounded easy, it certainly wasn't something one could do just by reading knight novels.

And the spark produced the moment the outsider observed the world was exactly the reason he came into contact with the 【Enlightenment】 element at his own doorstep.

"And it is not just our civilization, and not just human civilization; the civilizations of past eras can also do it. 【Enlightenment】 may coexist with 【Profanity】 and 【Miracle】; after all, the history of civilization cannot be without the power of gods, and the gods have never moved their gaze away from civilization."

In the dense fog behind the doctor, a corner of the destiny ring was revealed again, and the brass-colored rune 【Beautiful Dream】 emerged:

"This is the spirit rune 【Beautiful Dream】. It is not convenient to explain its origin for the time being. My compatibility with it is very good, and now I am going to use a wonder to make the other party enter a dream."

A slight light was cast out; Xia De could not see the specific effect, but he believed the doctor would not miss.

They finally stopped their forward steps and turned into a room without any markings. This room was very clean, but no one was seen.

The doctor was unhurried:

"Finally, there is Whisper. If you can engrave the 【Whisper】 spirit rune, it will definitely be a black-iron colored spirit rune. 【Whisper】 has a wide range of sources. The general view is that if 【Enlightenment】 is the light of civilization, then 【Whisper】 is the darkness of the world. Whisper is almost a natural phenomenon, echoing throughout the material world. It is obtained by contacting the knowledge of Evil Gods and contacting 【Relics】."

The detective died because of a certain 【Relic】, so Xia De was able to come into contact with the 【Whisper】 element when he died.

The black-iron rune was revealed, and its meaning was 【False Reality】, the most complex one among the four spirit runes the doctor demonstrated.

"This spirit rune was the harvest from solving a Secret Keeper-level, that is, a Level 3 【Relic】 incident a year ago. I don't quite understand its power; currently, it is mainly used to break illusions."

Under the radiance of the black-iron rune, the clean room gradually revealed its true appearance. Newspapers and wooden boards blocked the drafty windows, and the floor and walls looked as if they had been painted with a layer of plasma, emitting a foul odor. The floor was filled with glass containers containing human organs, scattered about as if holding an exhibition...

After the disguise disappeared, the bloody smell rushed toward them. Xia De's stomach churned; he finally knew why the doctor had deliberately not let him eat breakfast.

Enduring the intense discomfort and mental pressure, Xia De's eyes swept across the room that was almost turning blood-red, and he saw a young man sleeping soundly in the corner.

He didn't look like a vagrant; instead, he looked like a student—his clothes were clean, his appearance was refined, and he was dressed appropriately. He sat slumped there, holding a pistol in one hand and a brass-colored box in the other.

"Baid Morode, 19 years old, a student at the Luorakesi Mechanical Academy in Tobesk City. A year ago, after accidentally coming into contact with a Level 5, that is, a Poet-level 【Relic】, he fell into madness due to the influence of the 【Whisper】 element within the relic. His temperament changed drastically, and he gradually became a murderer who kidnapped and killed young women... This world, after all, is too dangerous for ordinary people."

"Then, what exactly is a 【Relic】?"

Xia De controlled his fear of the scene and suppressed the urge to vomit. The doctor, however, appeared very calm about this, not knowing if he had controlled his emotions well or if he was accustomed to similar scenes. The two stood at the door of the room, neither intending to step inside.

"【Relics】 are remnants of the past, coming from the curses of the first five eras. Some are formed naturally, while others were created by powerful existences of the past."

"Remember, only the first five eras could give birth to 【Relics】. So far, there is no record of 【Relics】 from the Sixth Era we are in. But if you can discover one, perhaps a whole academic year's worth of practical credits would be enough... 【Relics】 are very easy to distinguish from other alchemical items; only they can possibly have the 【Whisper】 element attached to them. There is no artificial way for anyone to attach the 【Whisper】 element to an item."

The two looked together at the metal box held by the young Morode; that was the 【Relic】. ===== CHAPTER 15 =====