“Attend church,” She said.
“What does the church have anything to do—.”
“Or would you rather have Freddy lecture you regarding mysticism knowledge?”
Churches have classes for Mysticism and Weavers?
Seeing Ulrich’s expression, she rolled her eyes and clarified further, “If we had a Seer, then they would be your mentor, but… The reality is not so. As for Freddy, he isn’t exactly an expert in Divination.”
“Of course, if you have questions in relation to a specific inquiry or practices that are confusing, it’s best to ask one of us directly. There is also the library in the Sanctuary. It is open to everyone, and there’s only one rule—don’t take the content outside.”
Thinking along this line, he glanced at Rosaline and her fluttering shadow.
As for the library’s rule, it made sense.
“Wait—aren’t you also a Shadowmancer?”
The implication behind his words was simple. Since it was stated that Shadowmancer had a certain connection to the Shadow Realms, which was one of the reasons why they are ‘good’ at divination. Shouldn’t Rosaline be the best candidate to be a Seer?
“You’re funny. If that was the case, you would’ve had to wait a considerable amount of time for a vacant spot in the Ministry.”
“However, I think you’ve misunderstood something. Not every Shadowmancer is ‘good’ at divination. In fact, divination is a skill, any paths can learn it, even normal people. But Shadowmancers are the best at ‘learning’ it. The affinity to the Shadow Realm only aids in their divination, not a requirement.”
“You will learn this in general lectures, but Divination works on the principles of information. The Shadow Realm is one of the realms that overlaps with our world the most, so there is a great deal of information a Shadowmancer can lay their foundation on.”
She fixed her coat and adjusted the fuzzy strands of hair covering her face, then continued,” With that said, I am one of those people who dislike the art of Divination. Just thinking about it gives me a headache.”
“Of course, that’s not the only reason. I am Oath-sworn to the Great Mother, and this comes with some restrictions. If I were to study divination, my ability to understand the content and put it into practice would be the same as an ordinary person. It’s simply not worth my time.”
Shadow realm? Another realm just like the ‘Depths’, mentioned by Lewis? Each paths seem to contain their own ‘domain’ and ‘realms’… Doesn’t that mean Ironsinger and Galebreather, respectively, all have their own realm?
He had a feeling that his assumptions were more or less close to the truth. If that is the case, then which paths do the Depths correspond to?
The amount of information that Rosaline presented overloaded Ulrich's head. Fortunately, after awakening, his capacity to process information as well as sorting them have enhanced.
This feedback… This is what she means by ‘best at learning’?
Just from the brief description and notes, Ulrich was able to clarify some matters he’d previously failed to grasp.
Naturally, his previous knowledge of Divination from the Dream helped him, but even then, a single piece of information from Rosaline allowed him to make multiple conjectures seemingly out of nowhere.
It looks like I have to start attending churches… He murmured. To think that there would be a day that he, Zhou Ren, a nonbeliever, would attend churches.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
With that said, Rosaline led Ulrich out of the memorial hall, then headed to the entrance of the Repository.
As the giant gate closed, she recalled another matter, “I heard one of your friends is currently missing. This matter involves the Twilight Order… From my experience with them, she should be alive for some unknown purposes. If not, then she would be a corpse when we arrived.”
Hearing this, Ulrich's brows furrowed. They sound like your old colleague… For a moment, he wasn’t sure if he should rejoice at this piece of information, or grieve at the fact that the Twilight’s Order seemed to be rather active.
Rosaline didn’t notice his reaction and continued without blinking.
“It’s best if you learn divination quickly—this way, we can confirm her status as well as find the corresponding clues regarding her whereabouts.”
Ulrich's lip twitched. He held back the urge to mention that he already performed his own divination regarding her status.
“And I think Captain Ottis forgot to bring it up, but we do have some items belonging to Ms. Selena in the warehouse next to St. Samuel. Once you can perform scrying, or dousing divination, we’ll have you use it as a medium for your divinations.”
She hoped that Ulrich would be motivated to learn as quickly as possible. Regarding the Twilight Order, Ulrich wasn’t the only one anxious to figure out what they were up to.
As a matter of fact, the Ministry has been combating conflicts involving the Twilight Order for some years now. Selena Morris just so happened to be their most recent case.
After they separated in the dimly lit corridor, the first thing that Ulrich did was inform Captain Ottis of his success. Immediately, he had to file the report in accordance with the procedures of the Ministry.
Indeed, bureaucracy exists in every organization. Just staring at the pages of paper in front of the desk filled him with dread.
After about three hours, he finally finished it and handed it over to Captain Ottis in the office building of Cartwright Security. Surprisingly, he did not find Rosaline at the reception table. Instead, it was replaced by an unknown man.
He didn’t ponder too deeply about it and focus on himself since there were many changes to his status.
Firstly, his salary has increased—this was the most important thing to mention. Money, who wouldn’t be happy to have more? Particularly, after he heard about the cost of refining his rank 1 Rune, Ulrich's jaw dropped to the floor. In fact, the shock was just as much as his first time entering the Repository of the Sanctuary.
Fortunately, the first rune is on the house… Even with my ‘commissions’ with the Shelby family in the past, I would still be put down under a bridge!
Secondly, Ulrich finally received his official badge, an inspector's badge. This badge was a symbol of his new status, attached with some privileges. With this, he can carry a concealed firearm without worrying about scrutiny from the law.
Other than this, his rank compared to law enforcement are equivalent to a lieutenants, allowing him to issue orders to other uniformed officers. However, this only applies to cases where the Ministry intervention is required.
For these two changes, Ulrich had to file additional paperwork before it could be finalized.
Honestly, every time he saw paperwork, his body would shiver subconsciously. Perhaps it had to do with some trauma from the past, back when he was still an underpaid university professor.
Finally, the most crucial changes was that he’d been given access to many facilities privy only to Watchmans.
One of them is the churches, which include back-door access to certain concealed areas, and the assistance of the Churches should he face any complications on duty.
The second would be the Sanctuary, the most important area for any Watchmans. Within the Sanctuary, there was the library, careward, Repository (restricted), lobby area, an office, and a secret tunnel that led directly to St. Samuel.
After consolidating his new standing, he had to take a moment to internalize it. Even as a transmigrator and a person of academic background, and now Weaver—these changes were drastic.
To think that he once struggled arduously only to obtain either incomplete information and knowledge, or unrelated details which he did not ask for. Yet and now, all these doors were opened wide for him.
It’s like I’m back in university as a student, He remarked inwardly. The overwhelming amount of things that he had to do was head-spinning.
I need to take it one step at a time, starting with attending churches…
A couple of days later.
The sky in Belham has mostly been cloudless for ten thousand miles, and the sun would illuminate every corner of the city. However, today, the basin was overturned and was pouring.
There were shades of trees, in fact, so many shades that every corner of the street was colored gray.
Ulrich found himself at the entrance of St. Samuel with an umbrella in hand. He adjusted his brown coat, pressed down on his black cap, then steadily made his way past the spring fountain.
Each step would splashed grimy water into droplets, and each droplet obscured his figure, making it hazy.
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