Chapter 69: On Ascension Within the Veil

Close the door, draw the curtains, crack the window.

Richard flipped his notebook to the marked section, spreading the reference table and etymology manual beside it.

The Gargoyle squatted on the corner of the desk, serving as a paperweight.

He was in no rush to process the materials gathered from the other candidate books; he could take his time with them.

The sheer volume of information from this first document alone required dedicated time to digest.

Right from the start, deciphering the embedded encryption proved more complex than anything he had tackled before.

First, he had to pick the cipher words out of the main text one by one.

This step demanded an extremely precise grasp of the text's Latin grammar.

Only by fully understanding the logic of the sentences could he determine which words belonged to the text and which were embedded cipher.

Then, the extracted words had to be arranged in page order to form complete sentences.

These sentences had themselves undergone another layer of substitution encryption.

It was like adding a needle-in-a-haystack search on top of standard codebreaking.

Richard sighed inwardly.

Whoever designed this encryption likely wanted to ensure that only someone with a high proficiency in Latin and a mastery of codebreaking techniques could read the contents.

Both skills were indispensable.

He lowered his head, pen in his right hand, tracing down the characters in the notebook one by one with his left index finger.

The boost from [Learning] made root deconstruction almost instantaneous, and his speed in analyzing Latin syntax far exceeded the norm.

About half an hour later, the first page of cipher words had been picked out and lined up on the blank paper.

He read the words in sequence, and his heartbeat began to accelerate.

After cracking the substitution cipher, the first complete sentence surfaced.

The title page of the document bore a single line of Latin:

"De Ascensu Velati (On Ascension Within the Veil)"

Richard's pulse quickened. He had found what he was looking for.

The opening plunged straight to the core:

"Anyone who steps to the edge of the veil will sooner or later face the same question: how to ascend."

"The essence of a Rank is the deepening of the relationship between the practitioner and the veil.

"The higher the Rank, the clearer the veil's perception of you, and the more power you can draw from it.

"The price is symmetrical: the shadow you cast behind the veil becomes denser and longer.

"Those entities deep within the veil that possess the ability to gaze will find it increasingly easy to recognize your silhouette."

"An extinguished candle in the dark will not be noticed by any eyes.

"A lit candle in the dark is very safe, as the flame is too small for distant eyes to discern.

"A torch is different; its light is bright enough for distant eyes to see.

"And the sun—the sun does not need to be found by eyes, because the first thing eyes do when they open is find the sunlight."

This passage made Richard sit up straight in his chair.

Ascending in Rank wasn't a one-way path to growing stronger; it was a two-way transaction.

You drew power from the veil, and the veil returned its gaze.

The greater the power, the deeper the gaze.

The document then devoted a large section to elaborating on the promotion process from Newcomer to Practitioner.

The wording was exhaustive, almost like a step-by-step guide:

"To cross from a Newcomer to a Practitioner, one must complete the Signature (Subscriptio)."

The prerequisites for the Signature were listed one by one.

First, the Ether Micro-circulation must operate stably for at least one year.

"One year is the minimum standard. A Micro-circulation maintained for less than this duration has an extremely high probability of collapsing during the Signature.

"The consequences of collapse vary from person to person. Mild cases suffer a fractured circuit that must be rebuilt from scratch, while severe cases permanently lose the ability to establish a circulation.

"The shortest stability period recorded in the literature is two hundred days.

"However, that practitioner experienced repeated circuit oscillations for three years following the Signature, only truly stabilizing in the fourth year. Do not rush."

Richard did the math in his head.

His Ether Micro-circulation had formed after his trip to the basement, less than two months ago. He still had to wait more than half a year, which would just about coincide with the summer academic promotion season.

Second, select a career path.

"Scholar, Hunter, Secret—one of these three paths must be explicitly chosen during the Signature.

"The Signature will brand your choice onto the surface of the supernatural item, and from then on, the world behind the veil will use this as an identifier to recognize your status. Once chosen, it cannot be changed."

This clause held no suspense for him: Scholar.

Third, complete a probatio.

"The probatio is the prerequisite assessment for the Signature ritual.

"The practitioner must independently complete a practical task related to their chosen direction, without outside assistance.

"The probatio for the Scholar path is typically this: independently deciphering a previously unrestored encrypted text.

"The probatio for the Hunter path is typically this: independently banishing a low-level entity from behind the veil.

"The probatio for the Secret path is typically this: independently setting or repairing an effective seal."

"There is no unified grading standard for the probatio, nor is there a centralized examination board.

"Your guide (Ductor) will judge the timing based on your actual skill level and arrange a probatio task for you when they deem it appropriate."

A guide. Mr. Hutton's face surfaced in his mind.

From the very beginning, the man had been the one pointing the way to the bookshelf, providing reference tables, taking him to observe seals in the field, and gifting the Silver Coin and Ashcore Grass.

If the occult inheritance system included the role of a guide, there was an eighty percent chance Mr. Hutton was his.

Even though the old gentleman had never explicitly confirmed the relationship.

"The Signature itself is not complicated; in fact, it is so simple it almost feels lacking in solemnity."

"The practitioner selects a supernatural item as a medium and carves their own brand onto the object's surface.

"To an outsider, this process just looks like a person signing their name on their property, because in essence, it is a signature."

"No candlelight, no prayers needed, no witnesses required to be present; you can even complete it while eating breakfast."

"The Signature is not a ritual, nor does it constitute a declaration in any ritualistic sense.

"It simply establishes a connection between you and an object, just as writing your name on the title page of a book proves that the book belongs to you, and proves that you belong to this path."

"The world behind the veil thereby learns of your existence, but nothing more.

"All it knows is that 'a candle has been lit'; the candle flame is too small for distant eyes to discern or care about."

Richard studied this passage carefully.

The Signature was merely a starting point, a household registration for the world behind the veil.

The registration itself held no risk, no cost, and didn't even require a specific setting.

The true rituals came later.

The document immediately followed with a full paragraph emphasizing the importance of choosing a supernatural item:

"When selecting a supernatural item, the least recommended approach is hastily choosing one for the Signature before any connection has been established.

"While this approach will not lead to catastrophic consequences, it will make every step of your future ascension more of a detour compared to others."

"Please note: do not blindly pursue the ether content within a supernatural item!

"Blindly choosing a supernatural item with an excessively high ether content can result in consequences far more terrifying than the collapse of the internal ether circulation!"

The tone of this warning was very stern.

Richard rubbed his chin, recalling the Fire Worship Temple Pillar he had seen at 7 Flower Moon Street. It made perfect sense.

If you struggled to even hold it in your hands, how could you ever attune to such a supernatural item and complete the Signature?

At the end of the Signature section, the document added a few sentences in an almost conversational tone.

"After completing the Signature, congratulations—you are officially a Practitioner."

"You can temporarily intercept ether from the environment, no longer relying entirely on the passive trace accumulation from practicing a breathing method, drastically increasing the ether at your disposal in a short time.

"You can cast true Spell Formulas.

"The little tricks at the Newcomer stage are essentially just techniques for using a minute amount of ether to ignite an external medium; they cannot be counted as Spell Formulas."

"You can accept commissions to solve practical problems in the occult field for employers.

"You can use the industry's credit system to purchase supplies.

"You can enter most occult venues without being politely 'asked' to leave."

"In a word: you have a legal identity, a means of making a living, and a circle you can participate in."

At this point, the document's tone suddenly shifted.

"The following passage is the author's personal advice, not an academic conclusion.

"You may disagree, but please at least read it to the end."