In the chamber, Dorothy was pondering the characteristics of the Scholar branch.
This branch had clear strengths and weaknesses. Its strength lay in its versatility. The higher the rank, the more abilities it could acquire, and the stronger it would become. It was already evident that a Scholar at the Red or Gold rank, with multiple simulated abilities, would be incredibly powerful.
The weakness was that it was relatively weak in the early stages. The simulated abilities from other branches were inferior to the originals and often incomplete. The lack of an auxiliary spirituality pool meant that using abilities would drain spirituality extremely quickly. Additionally, advancement required full spirituality investment, and the total amount needed was much higher than for other branches.
“The main spirituality needed doesn’t regenerate automatically but instead consumes experience points. It feels like this branch is forcing me to spend resources...”
Dorothy murmured to herself in the chamber. She could already foresee herself purchasing large amounts of Chalice mystical texts. Fortunately, she could extract spirituality from mystical texts; otherwise, she had no idea how she would manage as a Scholar.
Next, Dorothy reviewed her current spirituality situation. After completing her advancement, all her accumulated spirituality had significantly decreased. Her current status was as follows:
6 Chalice, 7 Stone, 3 Shadow, 1 Lantern, 1 Silence, 0 Revelation.
Of course, the Revelation here referred to the experience points accumulated for advancement. Dorothy’s Revelation spirituality pool had refilled to 10 points after her advancement, but this pool couldn’t be used for further advancement.
Now, Dorothy’s total spirituality capacity had reached 30 points. This meant that advancing to White Ash would require at least 30 points of Revelation. Given the nature of the Scholar rank, the next advancement would likely also require full spiritual investment. Besides Revelation, the requirements for other spiritual attributes probably wouldn’t be much lower.
“Sigh... It feels like I’ve been set back to square one.”Looking at the meager amount of spirituality she had left after all her hard work, Dorothy sighed in frustration. However, overall, she was still in high spirits. After all, she had finally advanced, achieving a small milestone.
“Well... I should be able to leave now.”
With that, Dorothy immediately walked over to the exit, where the Universal Language was inscribed. Just like when she had entered the chamber, she touched the text with her hand. As expected, the wall in front of her gradually disappeared, revealing a long passage behind it—the same scene as when she had entered the chamber.
“Finally, I can leave.”
Seeing this, Dorothy felt a surge of joy and prepared to gather her things and leave. Just as she was packing up the Literary Sea Logbook, an idea struck her.
“Before I leave, I should thank Nephthys and Vania. I should let them know that my situation has been resolved. After all, they helped me a great deal outside.”
Thinking this, Dorothy decided not to rush out of the chamber. Instead, she sat down again and began writing replies to Vania and Nephthys.
She quickly finished writing to Vania and then started composing a message for Nephthys.
“Thank you for your help, Senior Nephthys. The trouble on my end has been resolved.”
…
East Tivian, on a street.
At noon, the carriage carrying Nephthys was moving along a bustling road. Sitting inside, Nephthys had been holding the history book she carried with her, waiting for a message from Dorothy. When she saw Dorothy’s handwriting appear on the page, she felt a wave of relief.
“It seems Miss Dorothy’s trouble has been resolved. I’m glad everything went smoothly.”
Feeling relieved, Nephthys picked up her pen and wrote back.
“The Rose Cross Order saved me and helped me fight against Thorn Velvet. This is what I should do. I’m also glad my actions were successful. I was worried something unexpected might happen.”
Nephthys wrote this, and after a short while, Dorothy’s reply appeared.
“Worried something unexpected might happen? Why? Did something concerning happen while you were buying the mystical text?”
Seeing these words, Nephthys hesitated for a moment before continuing to write.
“Yes... There was something a bit strange. To summarize, I encountered a man named Mossance...”
Nephthys then began to describe her encounter with Mossance at the Golden Covenant Bank.
To be honest, Nephthys had been quite wary of Mossance’s sudden friendliness. Although she was a novice in the mysticism world, after the incident with Thorn Velvet taking over the Scholarly Society, she had learned that unsolicited kindness could be suspicious. However, so far, nothing had happened. Although her guard had lowered somewhat, she thought it best to inform Dorothy.
…
Inside the chamber, Dorothy frowned slightly after reading Nephthys’ account. She immediately sensed something was off.
“This Mossance guy... He’s clearly suspicious. Not only did he suddenly approach Nephthys with excessive friendliness, but his words were also full of red flags. What’s with the black tea and the Black Iron rank... Is he even a real Beyonder? Or is he just someone dabbling in the mysticism world with incorrect information?”
Dorothy wondered to herself. She thought Mossance might be a novice who had stumbled into the mysticism world with flawed knowledge. But then again, could someone so inexperienced really know about the White Craftsmen’s Guild’s hideout in Tivian? Being able to conduct long-term transactions at the guild’s hideout didn’t seem like the behavior of a novice.
“A seasoned Beyonder associate, deliberately approaching a newcomer like Nephthys with excessive friendliness, and asking questions full of basic mistakes... This is interesting…”
Dorothy pondered this line of thought, and the more she considered it, the more suspicious it seemed. After considering several possibilities, she picked up her pen and wrote to Nephthys.
“Are you in the carriage right now?”
…
In the carriage, Nephthys looked at the words that appeared on the page and quickly wrote back.
“Yes, I’m in the carriage heading back.”
After Nephthys finished writing, Dorothy’s reply appeared almost immediately.
“Now, check if there’s another carriage following you. Don’t look back directly. Use a mirror to check, and keep the mirror slightly lowered.”
Seeing Dorothy’s new instructions, Nephthys frowned slightly. After a moment of hesitation, she began rummaging through her bag for a mirror.
As a university student who cared about her appearance, Nephthys always carried a mirror. Soon, she found a small hand mirror in her bag.
Holding the mirror up, Nephthys looked at the reflection. Through the carriage’s rear window, she could see the road behind her.
Staring at the mirror, Nephthys watched for about seven or eight minutes. Sure enough, she spotted a carriage tailing hers!
“There really is someone following me! When did they start?”
Seeing the trailing carriage, Nephthys broke out in a cold sweat. She quickly put the mirror down and began writing frantically in the book.
“Someone’s following me!”