Super Righteous Player
Chapter 564 - 105 Annan Winter’s Worshipers_1

Chapter 564: Chapter 105 Annan Winter’s Worshipers_1

"...Hm?!"

Naifertali gasped in surprise upon hearing this.

Though the first two secrets were also completely beyond her expectations,

they were nothing compared to the shock that the third secret brought her.

—Annan Winter?

As a student of the Bone Healer, Seti, of course she knew this name.

And she knew more about it than the average person...

Annan was the most beloved younger son of Duke Ivan, the future Duke of Winter, and the true inventor of the internal combustion engine.

He also had close relationships with several True Gods. Known as the "Beloved of the Chalice," "The Favored by the War’s Crimson," "The Protected by the Dice," "The Silent One," "The Untraceable Monster," he was a candidate for sainthood recognized by the Eye of Patience, and the "Hatchling Dragon" most dearly loved by his grandmother.

He was known as the most talented Ritualist in history. Even before the purification of his soul, he had already reached the highest realm a Ritualist could attain.

This was something that was theoretically impossible.

Ritualists are a group that obtains transcendental power solely through "Wisdom," "Willpower," and "Luck."

The path of rituals is far more dangerous than that of Transcendents... because the power they control far exceeds their own level. Any failure in ritual could bring an irreparable cost. This means that Ritualists cannot afford to fail.

Generally speaking, the strength of a Ritualist depended on the highest level of ritual they could manage.

Even the highest-ranking Ritualists—those capable of performing "Genesis Miracles"—could still fail when conducting lower-level rituals.

Whether cursed with bad luck, their hands trembling from injury, their thoughts influenced by others... including the inevitable end that all Ritualists face.

—The souls of mortals cannot bear arcane mysteries that are too profound.

The path of rituals is not entirely "the craft of mortals." At least at the beginning of its development, the souls of its practitioners were not so frail. It was only later that the people of Aesirland discovered that this path allowed those without transcendental gifts to wield transcendental powers... which led to the mass emergence of Ritualists.

During the era of the Aesirland Empire, "rituals" were even a mandatory examination subject for official Transcendents. Just as being skilled with firearms doesn’t mean one doesn’t need to train in close combat.

However, after the fall of the Empire, along with the plunge of the "Grand Sky Library" into the deep sea and the extinction of the Elves, the Ritualists lost their most orthodox lineage. This directly caused the lineage of most Ritualists to become fragmented and full of holes.

As the son of a duke, Annan Winter’s education was certainly more complete than the ritual knowledge available to the common folk.

But generally, such prominent figures would rather take the path of the Transcendent and would definitely not walk the path of rituals. They only learned some everyday necessary rituals and understood some that could potentially be used against them...

Because rituals are a power that does not allow for "failure."

But Annan was different.

Before he became a Transcendent, he had already used "Genesis" level grand rituals multiple times.

Ritualists are not as clearly graded as Transcendents—because it is not rare for "amateur Ritualists" to possess high-level mystical knowledge but lack understanding of common lower-level knowledge.

However, rituals themselves are graded.

Generally, the level of arcane rituals is determined by the weight of the mystical knowledge serving as the "key."

The heaviest knowledge is that of the secrets of Genesis, speaking of which can change the world. It is said that the secret as to why mystical knowledge is "knowledge forgotten upon speaking it," "knowledge with power," lies within the secrets of Genesis.

Below that are "core knowledge" about the Otherworld, also known as "Otherworld-level" knowledge. Whether it’s the world beyond dreams or The Void World, or other worlds not directly connected to the "Mist Realm," any knowledge related to the essence of the world has the power to shatter the rationality of mortals.

For example, knowledge about magical energy, The True Philosopher’s Stone, the essence of dreams... these deep secrets about the nature of the world are not something mortals can bear. Naifertali only knew of these things by name. She dared not learn more, nor did she dare to give it much thought.

Knowing just a fragmentary phrase about the Otherworld could cause one to fall into endless nightmares. It might even summon beings from the Otherworld in their dreams.

Beneind that is knowledge from before the Second Epoch, namely knowledge about "history."

The arcane knowledge of those ancient deities is at this level, the highest that mortals can bear. For example, the true names of the twelve True Gods and what they did before the Second Epoch.

This level of knowledge, by simply being spoken, has power. It can be used as a valuable substitute in rituals and can produce high-level effects. If a mortal carries too much, their soul will be destroyed by the heavy burden of the knowledge.

For example, if a mortal came to know the true name of Grandmother. They would often dream of Winter’s blizzards, waking to find their room already covered in ice and snow. They would hear, more and more frequently, wolf howls that only they could hear, and once they followed them, they would never return.

And if a mortal came to know the secrets of the Firestarter, they might find their blankets igniting while they slept, their creativity gradually increasing. Occasionally, their skin would bear scorch marks as if struck by a red-hot hammer... and they might even burst into flame without warning, turning to ashes completely.

Only those who are Transcendents of the silver rank or above can possess this mystery for long.

After that, is the knowledge of the "Truth" from the second era onwards. Such as the true names of new gods like the Paper Princess, the real name of the Book of Truth, and the secrets that ancient gods created after the second era.

This level of knowledge only causes hallucinations, auditory hallucinations, and tactile illusions at most.

Even ordinary people, as long as they are mentally resilient enough, can bear a considerable amount of it without worrying that their rationality will be destroyed.

After the second era, information below the level of Truth no longer possesses "mystery."

The last kind of knowledge is the above-mentioned knowledge, which, as "custom," has evolved into "pseudo-canons" after being reinterpreted by mortals. For example, secrets about funerals, about blacksmiths, about locksmiths, which sound like made-up stories or strange customs from some place.

Generally speaking, it is the "Truth level" knowledge that has been deliberately or inadvertently altered in part. In many places, it is indeed practiced as folklore... and occasionally strange phenomena do occur.

Apart from a very few "coincidences that happen to meet the ritual conditions," in most cases, it’s only visual or auditory hallucinations.

And yet, Annan was just an ordinary person.

At most, he could only know the true name of Grandmother...

But according to rumors, he had indeed genuinely performed a "Genesis" level ritual—

Since even the Bone Healer Seti had once lamented to his students about Annan Winter’s ritual talent... it must be a true story.

At that time, Naifertali had already graduated.

She just went back to have a look...

Even Seti’s understanding and recognition of Naifertali did not qualify her to know the name of that ritual.

For merely knowing the name of this ritual could lead one to infer some of the mysteries of Genesis. Her mortal soul would have been greatly damaged by it.

But how did Annan, as a mortal, perform that ritual?

This was what Naifertali wanted to ask at the time.

But she chickened out and didn’t dare to talk back.

However, since it was Annan Winter.

It wasn’t surprising after all.

As a candidate for sainthood already under the scrutiny of the Eye of Patience two years ago.

It was normal for him to purify the Sporogenesis Mill;

It was within Naifertali’s understanding that he could erase his subordinates’ erosion, resurrect them;

It was natural for him to be the leader of the ancient organization "Secret Eye."

It made sense for him to create false bodies, false names for himself;

Now that he had embarked on the path of the Transcendent... deviating silver-tier spells was not beyond Naifertali’s expectations.

It all fit, every single piece.

He was that Annan Winter... you know what I mean?

Suddenly, Naifertali felt fearless in her heart.

With Annan Winter’s knowledge of rituals, he would encounter no difficulties in any nightmare. He could probably use anything to set up a ritual... a casual mention of Genesis-level arcane knowledge would immediately slay formidable foes in the nightmare.

So that was it.

There was nothing to be afraid of anymore.

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