On a quiet night in Igwynt, in an apartment overlooking Southern Sunflower Street, Dorothy sat in her chair, mulling over things with great interest after imprinting some new information.
“So, I actually managed to exchange for the Duelist’s swordsmanship. It seems that the mystical knowledge was indeed profound. I wonder if this swordsmanship can help that person resolve their crisis. I hope they’ll be fine… after all, they gave me that manual for free.”
Dorothy thought to herself. After receiving the mystical knowledge sacrificed by the other party, she conducted the exchange. The Laurent Swordsmanship, obtained through this process, was integrated into Dorothy’s consciousness. She then duplicated a copy and sent it to the other person, imprinting it onto their Soul Codex—because knowledge doesn’t disappear simply because it’s shared.
In other words, Dorothy still retained a copy of the Laurent Swordsmanship in her consciousness. However, it remained in a storage state, not yet imprinted onto her own Soul Codex.
To clarify, the purpose of imprinting the Soul Codex is not to store knowledge but to allow Dorothy to bypass the cost and time of learning, enabling her to instantly master any skill at the highest level of proficiency.
For example, in The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, knowing a Dragon Shout and mastering it are entirely different matters. If one is not Dragonborn, mortals may need a lifetime to learn a Dragon Shout. And even with talent, some might never succeed no matter how long they try. For instance, the familiar Jarl of Whiterun tried to learn from the Greybeards but failed, while Ulfric Stormcloak, leader of the rebellion, mastered a Shout and used it to kill the High King of Skyrim, sparking a civil war—though even he was nowhere near the Dragonborn’s level.
With the aid of the Soul Codex, Dorothy could learn Dragon Shouts even faster than the Dragonborn, though the efficiency of this learning process was ultimately limited by the soul’s capacity.
Currently, Dorothy had stored all the techniques and experiences of Laurent Swordsmanship, but the remaining capacity of her Soul Codex was insufficient to fully master this grandmaster-level dueling technique.
Unlike Vania’s untouched Soul Codex, Dorothy’s was already filled with Dragon Shouts and Cain’s Appraisal Skill. If she wanted to learn Laurent Swordsmanship, she could only pick certain parts.
“Although it’s a pity I can’t learn it all at once, at least I discovered another method to acquire mystical knowledges today.”Glancing at the Literary Sea Logbook on her desk, Dorothy muttered to herself. She felt she could develop more connections through this method, having others sacrifice their mystical knowledges to her.
“Phew… I just hope you can overcome your crisis. Pious believer of a false god…”
As she observed the words appearing on the Logbook, Dorothy pondered and spoke.
…
Nighttime. In the underground crypt of a small chapel in Red Creek Town.
Guided by her insight, Vania deflected an incoming bullet with her sword. The bullet ricocheted, killing the masked man in white robes who had fired it. However, the immense kinetic energy of the bullet was not so easily absorbed.
In the instant the clear clang of metal rang out, Vania reflected the bullet. Yet her hands, gripping the sword, were shaken numb by the impact. Unable to maintain her grip, the blade clattered to the ground as her unbalanced body tilted backward, leaving her to fall to the ground with a thud.
“Ah!”
Clutching her tailbone, Vania let out a cry of pain. Although she possessed the experience and techniques of Laurent Swordsmanship, her physical capabilities couldn’t fully harness them. This led to her inability to properly withstand the bullet’s impact.
As a clerical nun with a sedentary lifestyle, Vania had never trained rigorously. While her deflection technique was flawless, her lack of strength caused her stance to collapse, leaving her toppled. Neither the advancement as a Lantern Beyonder nor Dorothy’s bestowed knowledge added any points to her stamina.
“Ouch… I need to get up, the fight’s not over!”
Wincing as she nursed her bruised area, Vania quickly stood. When she picked up her fallen sword and readied her stance again, she saw the white-robed man lying lifeless on the ground.
“Huh… he’s dead? When did that happen? Oh… I guess when I deflected the bullet. This divine swordsmanship is amazing—it can even block bullets!”
Realizing she had already killed her enemy, Vania marveled at the feat, momentarily disbelieving her own actions. Staring at the scene and the blood on her blade, she remained dazed for a while before shaking her head.
“Phew… this isn’t the time to zone out. I need to thank the divine grace!”
Regaining focus, Vania knelt in devout prayer.
“Thank you, Lord… thank you for your revelation… thank you for granting me the strength to defeat heretics. Your grace proves the righteousness of my path, the correctness of the Trinity’s doctrines. I shall uphold Your teachings and stand against all heresies that seek to corrupt the truth!”
As usual, Vania delivered a formal prayer. However, after finishing, she realized something was off.
“Wait… I still don’t know which among the Trinity or the Savior granted me this revelation. It’s rude to not address Them properly!”
In the Radiance Church, when unsure whether to address the Trinity or the Savior specifically, believers would use “Lord.” Yet, typically, prayers would specify the entity being invoked. The use of “Lord” was relatively rare.
“I need to find out! But divine revelations usually don’t get responses. Let’s see if the scripture still works.”
Muttering to herself, Vania rushed to a corner of the crypt, retrieved the scripture she had written earlier, and reverently inscribed with her pen.
“Thank you for Your grace. Please forgive my impertinence. May I ask whether You are the Holy Son, Holy Mother, Holy Father, or Savior?”
…
Sitting at her desk and staring at her book, Dorothy finally saw the long-awaited response. Seeing the question appear on the page, she frowned slightly.
“So, they’re safe. That’s good… but asking if I’m one of the Trinity or the Savior? Did they mistake me for a Radiance Church deity? Are they one of their clergy?”
Biting her pen in thought, Dorothy pondered the situation before taking a deep breath and write, “I am not one of the Radiant Saints.”
…
“Ah!!!”
Seeing the words appear on the page of her bible, Vania screamed in terror, trembling so violently that she dropped the scripture.
She stood up, clutching her chest, eyes wide with panic.
“Not one of the Saints! This… this means it’s a foreign god! A heretical deity!”
Suddenly, Vania’s mind descended into chaos. Her breathing quickened, and her heart raced.
“What do I do? What do I do… I accepted the revelation of a foreign god. I’m a heretic now! No, not just a heretic—an apostate! I’ve betrayed the faith!”
Her dazed gaze shifted to the white-robed man lying dead on the ground. Though he was a heretic, at least he still followed the Radiant Faith. Yet she… she had outright defected to a foreign faith!
If the Inquisition found out, it would be over for her!
At that moment, Vania saw her future collapse into bleakness.