World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 214, Book 1, Completed

The glow of the setting sun spread across the sky, and the river water changed from light blue to a deep blue that was almost black.

As the star sank below the horizon, the heat gradually dissipated, and the remaining warmth enveloped everyone in a cozy coat.

Caroline handed the three cursing robbers over to the arriving police. When she saw that the officer she usually worked with was different, she couldn't help but ask in confusion.

"Sir, you are...?"

The officer ran his finger along the brim of his hat and nodded to her: "The previous officer from the Dietrich Police Department was assassinated by a superhuman, so I'm temporarily filling in."

"I see." Caroline pouted. "It's because we're not strong enough..."

“You don’t need to blame yourself; it’s all thanks to the ghost.” The officer gave a strange smile. “Ms. Jones, we are still on duty.”

"Okay, please keep in touch."

After saying goodbye to the somewhat strange-looking police officer, Caroline first found Hector by the river. Despite his repeated attempts to rescue people from the water, his slippery skin remained completely dry.

"How's it going?"

“Thankfully, the sun reappeared, and the situation didn’t escalate further,” Hector said. “Caroline, do you know how the battle in the sky ended?”

Caroline shook her head: "I've been in the department store the whole time, so I don't know. Was it the [Ghost] who did it?"

“No, the first person to attack the New Tower of Babylon was a mysterious being of mythical or higher level whom we had never witnessed, but I have seen this energy fluctuation... Minister Cardenas used this method to break the restraints on all the isolation chambers.”

“What?” Caroline’s eyes widened. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Don’t rush, keep listening.” The taciturn Hector waved his hand. “Then, someone flew out and stopped that person from continuing to cause destruction. He came from a black ship, the [Witch's] lair.”

"The free spirits...stopped the disaster?" Caroline exclaimed in surprise.

"Although I hate to admit it, when it was all over, I was sure I saw a dazzling silver light shoot into the sky, followed by the Ghost's signature green code flashing and disappearing, and then the sun appeared."

A flood of information rushed into Caroline's mind. Her pupils trembled as she pondered for a moment before speaking.

"In other words, besides the mysterious liberal faction dominated by ghosts and witches, there is actually a terrifying mysterious figure hiding in Dietrich, and it is the culprit behind some of the crimes?"

“I’m afraid so,” Hector said. “Caroline, these people we’re after, might also be protecting the city in their own way.”

“The St. Anilov Foundation has never—” Caroline’s words were cut short when a flash of inspiration struck her, and she almost screamed, “It’s the research director! She’s the one who’s compiling the wanted list information!”

“And then there’s Chairman Emmanuel. The two of them keep leading us to believe that everything is connected to the mysterious liberal faction, ignoring the possibility that ‘perhaps there’s someone else behind it all.’” Hector sighed. “Caroline, do you remember the last riot?”

"Unforgettable."

"Minister Cardenas never used that ability to break the restraints until his death, so he might have been using a mysterious item. Then why didn't anyone find it when the battle ended?"

“Perhaps it’s a one-time thing,” Caroline said.

"Perhaps so, or maybe the research minister took it."

"Oh!" Caroline exclaimed. "Could it be that they are secretly colluding with those who destroyed the New Tower of Babylon?"

“I’m not sure, so I’ll just say this: we’ve never known anything about this ghost, listed as Alpha-002, who roams around Dietrich.”

Caroline fell into thought, and after a long while, she muttered to herself, "Did Vanessa do something wrong?"

"Don't deny St. Anilov's past, but think about what to do in the future. [The Ghost] is extremely powerful, far beyond our ability to match, but he doesn't necessarily have to be the enemy."

"You think we should cooperate with [the Ghost]?!"

"In this disaster, the entire Department of Justice has been mobilized, but so far, have you received any reports of anyone being killed by ghosts or free spirits?"

"In fact, they didn't hunt down any Foundation members."

Hector said sullenly, "It's just a personal thought. Rather than being powerless against a formidable enemy like the one we're facing today, it's better to talk to the Ghost. The situation will become increasingly out of control as 'Comers' approaches its orbit, and we alone are far from being able to protect this city."

"The question is, is the Ghost willing to talk to us?" Caroline smiled bitterly. "We don't have any leverage that he would care about... We were chasing him like madmen before."

The two remained silent, then footsteps sounded.

"Caroline, Hector!" the orange-haired woman waved her hands. "You're here! Have you... have you received any news of our captain?"

"Captain Simon?" The two men exchanged glances. "No. Is there no communication?"

“We haven’t heard from him since he left with the chairman yesterday,” Barry added, “but I think he won’t be absent from the rescue efforts after such a disaster in Dietrich.”

“President Emmanuel…” Caroline’s expression became somewhat subtle as she spoke of the speculation that the president had betrayed the Foundation. “If I remember correctly, Captain Simon and the president used to be comrades-in-arms.”

“Yes, he almost…” Hector hesitated, then changed the subject, “It would be better if you stopped looking for him.”

"Why?" Mishi asked irritably, and Barry frowned as well.

"For your safety."

"The captain won't hurt us!" Mishi shouted.

“Sigh, once the ‘Lord of Dreams’ loses control, he won’t even hesitate to kill his own parents,” Caroline said helplessly. “Besides, Mr. Simon Lloyd was once Beta-003 on the wanted list, the [Evil Eye].

…………

Releasing the lifeless, icy hand of Doris, Lin An let out a long breath.

it is finally over.

She was a worthy opponent, and as Doris expected, Lin An would always remember her.

Remember her fiery figure, her indomitable will, and her untamed pursuit of freedom.

After a moment of silence, Lin An brought up the Asherah Psalms he had just acquired.

Asherah, Astartes, and Anas are known as the three goddesses of the Canaanite pantheon, with Asherah being the most well-known.

Her main titles are Mother Goddess and Moon Goddess. Legend has it that she also possesses superhuman strength and can unleash limitless power.

Around four thousand years ago, in the mythology of the city-state of Ugarit, she was the wife of the chief god El, and together with her husband, they had a total of 70 children, who formed the pantheon of the gods.
Asherah later spread to Canaan and became a goddess of fertility. She was also worshipped by other peoples, such as the Hebrews, and was depicted as a naked woman, a symbol of pregnancy and breastfeeding.

The Canaanites associated Asherah with the sacred tree, a tradition inherited by the later Hebrews. Eve, the "mother of all living beings" described in the Garden of Eden story, imitated Asherah in some ways, and the two trees of life and the tree of knowledge may also reflect the worship of Asherah.

Doris is clearly not the real Asherah, but rather her Psalms.

The most important documents of Canaanite mythology are the poems they used to record the gods. Just like the "Compendium of Magic," these poems allowed mystics to glimpse a corner of the divine and to exploit it.

The difference between deities and mystics who borrow their power through literature lies in their rank, abilities, and "passive" abilities, such as Simon's [Sariel], who is born with abilities like soul protection and the Evil Eye.

If he is a mystic who borrows from documents, these abilities would need to be activated through mystical arts. The Asherah Psalms only record a fragment of Asherah's image, yet it possesses such power; it is unimaginable how much devastating energy the goddess herself must have wielded.

However, Lin An believes that the true goddess Asherah should have been lost in the long river of time like the Hittite gods, and will never awaken again.

They lived in an era too ancient, and their images spread throughout the world through various civilizations, either becoming unrecognizable or being merged and rewritten, making it impossible to form a complete "cognition" that modern people can understand.

It is said that Asherah was born around the time when the orbits of "Comers" completely overlapped. Lin An thought.

Will everyone in that era be statue-like?
So how did the "mysterious prototype" come about in the first place?

"That planet nurtured an advanced civilization, and its inhabitants were products of independent parallel evolution."

"It was the 'Comers' side that triggered the bidirectional chakra in order to make contact with another civilization in the solar system..."

This is a letter from Joshua's drawer, from a female member of Zion named "Neeli".

According to her, a long time ago, a being from the planet "Comers" descended upon Titan, and the story of the Mysterious One began from there.

Aliens, ancient gods, the Great Flood...

What is the connection between them?
Suppressing his turbulent thoughts, Lin An turned to Doris's panel, where the Asherah Poems recorded two of her abilities.

The first is the [Throat-Slitting Weapon], a semi-circular bronze weapon that Doris used to deal with Joshua. It can be summoned using "Seeker of Knowledge" x1, "Judge" x2, "God of Agriculture" x1, and "Lord of the Earth" x1, and can be thrown to deal damage.

This type of damage ignores all defense and healing abilities below the source level, directly causing fatal damage to the target.

Unlike the Hittite ritual, this one requires Lin An to actively throw it out; whichever part of the target it hits will be cleaved.

Lin An actually put his dart-throwing skills from the foundation facilities to use. He flexed his fingers.

The second type is called [Blessing of the Primal Incarnation]. It consumes 1 "Seeker of Knowledge", 1 "God of Truth", 2 "Mother of Desire", 2 "Lord of the Earth", and 1 "God of Agriculture". Its effect is to communicate with Asherah and have her perform a miracle.

No wonder every Hittite ritual required a "god of truth"—their essence was to communicate with ancient deities and have the Hittite gods help perform the rituals.

The miracle is a choice between three blessings: power, fertility, and free will. The effect lasts until Lin An actively "rejects" it.

It seems that receiving this blessing comes at a price.

With the addition of two source-level abilities, Lin An has more ways to deal with mystics of the same rating, but Doris's entry has another use.

"System, trace the origins of Hittite rituals and Canaanite magic!"

Improving the system's rating is his most crucial goal!
The myths of two ethnic groups separated a thousand years ago have finally been united through Lin An.

"You have traced the origins of 'The Encyclopedia of Magic I: Necromancers, Fertility and the Dark Earth - The Ritual of the Hittites' and 'Hymns of Living Beings, Betrayal and Light - The Foreign Magic of Canaan I: The Asherah Psalms,' and the new entry 'The Encyclopedia of Mysteries, Volume One' has been added."

"With your witness, the illustrations for Volume One have been unlocked, and the effects of the arcane spells under that entry have changed."

"By tracing the source of the two entries, you have completed the first volume of this encyclopedia, raising the rating of the [Mysterious Encyclopedia] to Source A."

"Due to the rating upgrade, the Mysterious Encyclopedia has added two new features."

The system broadcast a series of prompts, adding details as needed.

"Due to the upgrade to rating 2, the pollution level has been recalculated."

As it spoke, the panel in front of Lin An slowly changed, the data jumped, and finally stopped at the current state.

[Name]: The Encyclopedia of Mystery
[Rating]: Source Grade A

Radiation level: 12.4%
[Pollution Level]: 18.2%
[Medium]: The seeker of knowledge

Looking at the prominent "A" grade, Lin An felt both joy and a touch of regret.

"I thought you would evolve to the level of a statue."

"I'm very sorry, but the Source A level is already the upper limit of the normal mystery rating. Further progress requires the assistance of the 'Lady with the Lamp'."

"What kind of need is required?"

"This encyclopedia does not yet include entries related to the 'Twelve Comos'."

"Brother Tongzi, could you please reveal the real name in the panel's [Name] section? And is this entry called 'Book One' also a pseudonym after the recognition is blocked?" Lin An asked.

"Since you do not know the real name of the encyclopedia, it will not be displayed."

What a familiar conversation.

Unexpectedly, the advanced entry for "The Complete Book of Magic I" is simply called "Book One." Judging from the system's tone, this is not the actual name of the entry.

The absence of Roman numerals in Book One suggests that it has reached a final form, a kind of "peak".

The rating upgrade was certainly a good thing, but it brought Lin An even greater confusion—what exactly was the system?
It can't actually be a deus ex machina "system," that would be too illogical...

"You're not some alien's notebook, are you?" Lin An teased tentatively. "Even I don't know how to pronounce 'Comers'."

"This encyclopedia is the crystallization of human wisdom," the system said calmly.

"Strange explanation."

Lin An had no way to deal with it, so he shifted his focus.

"So, to advance to the statue level, it's not only necessary to perfect the entries in the Encyclopedia of Magic, but also to interact with the medium of the 'Lady with the Lamp'?"

"Yes."

“I’ve never encountered a mysterious ‘Lady with the Lamp’ before, and the source of each time I obtain this medium is also very strange,” Lin An pondered. “Based on past experience, it’s suspected to be related to the ‘Supreme God’…”

With the next development direction in mind, he turned to the floating "little man in the bottle".

Not only the Asherah Psalms, a source-level entry, but the little man in the bottle has temporarily housed the Torah. Lin An wonders if he can use consciousness synchronization to add it to the system.

A miniature version of a white-haired boy floats by, Doris's last breath lingers in the air, and the faint fragrance of a young girl permeates the air, melancholic and hollow.

Just as Lin An was about to reach out, a fly with purple eyes flew by.

"Buzz-!"

As the resounding horn echoed in her ears, Doris's presence vanished completely.

"Aha, the spoils belong to Valhalla!" A familiar, mischievous voice rang out. "I've completed another quest from [Xion], they'd better reward me handsomely!"

Thank you Herrington, Chongyang0114, and C'Thun Exploding Crispy Turkey for the monthly tickets, and thank you all for your recommendations and subscriptions.
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(End of this chapter)