"As expected... This should be the true capability of this Literary Sea Logbook, right? I didn’t expect it to function as a communication tool. A mystical version of QQ or WeChat?"
Dorothy thought this as she looked at the newly revealed information from her appraisal skill. At this moment, she had already deduced why a message had appeared in the logbook. It was evident that the words she had written earlier had landed on some text somewhere and were seen by someone, prompting them to write a reply.
"It feels just like tossing a message in a QQ Drift Bottle and getting a response…"
With this thought in mind, Dorothy began to carefully examine the reply. However, her expression quickly turned into a frown.
"’Lord, Please enlighten me. How does knowledge help?’ This... The person who replied—are they some kind of believer? Did they take my words as divine revelation? How does a person’s thought process even work this way?"
Staring at the words on the book, Dorothy couldn’t help but scratch her head in bewilderment. She knew nothing about the other party’s situation, so naturally, she had no idea what circumstances had led that "netizen" to respond with such a message.
Another aspect that piqued her interest was the system itself. Based on her previous experiences, Dorothy had already confirmed that the system could help receive prayers. She didn’t expect it could also use the Logbook as a medium to receive written prayers from others.
"This written prayer seems to lack a specific recipient. It probably traveled along the ’network cable’ of the Logbook and was detected by the system, which then notified me?"
After a moment of reflection, Dorothy roughly pieced together the current scenario—it was the result of a synergy between the Logbook and the system. The Logbook acted as a medium to convey prayers from afar, while the system intercepted the unaddressed prayer. The question now was, how should she respond to this prayer?
"Although I don’t know why you wrote a prayer in a book, since you’re asking me about how does knowledge help, I can only answer…" Muttering to herself, Dorothy pondered for a moment before picking up a pen. Beneath the reply, she wrote down something she had been taught by her teachers in elementary school.
"Knowledge changes fate. Knowledge is power."
With that, the words Dorothy had written dissolved into the pages of the book.
…
In the underground crypt of a church in Red Creek Town, Vania, curled up in a corner, stared anxiously yet hopefully at the sacred tome in her hands. Her gaze was fixed on the spot where the characters she had written earlier had disappeared.
"Gone? The words disappeared? What does this mean? Could it be that my prayer has reached the Lord?"
Just as Vania was puzzling over this, ink stains began to form out of thin air on the scripture she held. The stains coalesced into sentences beneath the word "knowledge." Seeing these new words, Vania froze.
"Knowledge changes fate. Knowledge is power?"
"Is this the Lord’s teaching?" Vania thought, her mind racing. "It seems to make sense. By learning more, one can indeed change their fate. Moreover, knowledge is an invisible force that plays a role in all aspects of life. My work also requires accumulating knowledge… Truly, this divine revelation is full of philosophical insight."
"Wait, no! Now is not the time for theology and philosophy! My Lord, can’t you give me some practical help?"
Vania shouted inwardly, then picked up her pen again to write in the book.
"Oh Lord, please guide me. What practical use does knowledge have? Can it save me from my current peril?"
…
"Peril? Save?"
Sitting at her desk, Dorothy’s expression grew serious as she read the new words that had appeared on the book. Based on the description, the person on the other end seemed to be in some kind of crisis and was praying to a deity for help. Although Dorothy had no idea why the prayer was directed to her, she felt it wasn’t something she could ignore.
"System, can I know the current situation of the one praying?"
Dorothy asked the system in her mind.
The system quickly responded.
"Analyzing the state of the praying party... Please wait... Analysis complete. Connection to the praying party is too weak to present an image. Additionally, it has been detected that the praying party possesses highly spiritual knowledge. Study is advised."
The system’s reply made Dorothy pause.
"The praying party holds mystical knowledge? But... I don’t even know where they are. They could be very far away. How am I supposed to study their mystical knowledge?"
Dorothy questioned the system further, and the reply was concise.
"By expending ’Revelation’ or ’Silence’ spirituality, you may establish an information exchange channel with the praying party, enabling the exchange of mystical knowledge through sacrifice and bestowment. Note: The channel can only carry information. The material vessel of the sacrificed knowledge will be destroyed."
"An information exchange channel... Sacrifice and bestowment…"
Hearing the system’s answer, Dorothy froze momentarily, then suddenly had an idea. She immediately asked another question.
"Hey, system, can I use this channel to imprint a Soul Codex for others and grant them knowledge?”
“Confirmed…”
Upon hearing the system’s response, Dorothy thoughtfully stroked her chin. Now, she wanted to conduct an experiment.
“System, teach me how to instruct the praying party to perform a remote sacrifice.”
…
In the crypt beneath the small church in Red Creek Town, Vania continued anxiously watching the sripture before her, waiting for the "Lord’s" response. The longer the wait stretched, the more restless she became.
"What’s going on? Why haven’t the words appeared yet? My Lord... Have you abandoned me? Please, no!"
Just as Vania was descending into despair, new words finally appeared on the scripture.
"Sacrifice knowledge... Receive blessings… Place your hand on the mystical text and meditate on the act of sacrifice."
"Sacrifice knowledge... receive blessings? Sacrifice the mystical text? The Lord needs the mystical text?"
Vania was momentarily stunned. In her understanding, the Trinity of Radiant Light did include routine sacrifice rituals, but these were mostly ceremonial and rarely involved actual sacrifices. Sacrifices weren’t a core tradition in the Radiance Church, unlike the greedy cults of evil gods.
Moreover, even the cruel and bloody sacrifices of the cults usually involved living creatures or sinister objects. Vania had never heard of anyone sacrificing mystical texts.
"The Lord I’m praying to… seems a bit different. Not quite like what’s described in the bible. Maybe I should ask who exactly They are—one of the Trinity? Or perhaps an angel under their command? Or... are They the Savior’s will itself?"
While Vania was deliberating, a loud crash echoed from the adjacent crypt, the sound of a bottle shattering. Frightened, she dared not waste any more time.
She immediately placed a tattered, yellow-covered book on the ground before her. This was a mystical text she had retrieved from the coffin of Dietrich. She hadn’t even had the chance to read it before chaos erupted outside, forcing her to flee with the book.
Now, it was this text—written by a Bishop of Radiance Church three centuries ago—that Vania intended to sacrifice. She didn’t even know its contents.
"Lord Dietrich, please do not blame me. It is your honor that your text has been chosen by the Lord. It is also my privilege."
Murmuring this in her heart, Vania closed her eyes, placed her hand on the mystical book, and meditated.
"Sacrifice…"
At that moment, using the Literary Sea Logbook as a medium, Dorothy sensed Vania’s act of sacrifice and expended a sliver of Revelation to establish a direct information exchange channel. This bypassed the Logbook, creating a direct connection.
Suddenly, beneath Vania’s hand, a glowing, intricate magic circle appeared, layered with complex runes. If Vania had opened her eyes, she would have noticed that the sigil on the circle wasn’t the usual Lantern symbol she was familiar with, but an open eye—the symbol of Revelation.
The mystical book at the center of the circle began to disintegrate under the mysterious force. Its physical form was gradually destroyed, while its knowledge was transmitted through the information channel to Dorothy, far away.
Back in her room, Dorothy received the sacrificed knowledge and immediately used the system to process it.
"Now then… What kind of card will this draw? Whether it can save you from your crisis depends on your own fortune, devout believer…"