Soon, silence fell over the room as the exchange began.
Wisps of incense curled upward, and soft, soothing music filled the air, relaxing mind and body.
The hall echoed with the slow, detailed recountings of the three young speakers.
Warm sunlight passed through the barrier and bathed the listeners' faces. Lulled by the steady drone of voices into a half-asleep state, vivid yet dreamlike scenes began to unfold before everyone's eyes.
Using voice as a vessel, mysterious forces twisted spoken information into another form—this was the true nature of synesthesia.
Amid the soft murmurs, their perceptions aligned. What was seen, heard, smelled, and felt—everything seemed entirely real.
Following in the footsteps of the three, the dozens of experts in the hall watched, listened, and comprehended, reliving every book they had encountered and witnessing the full process of Dr. Sven casting her arcana.
Finally, the voices ceased, and everything fell into silence.
The audience members sat motionless with their eyes closed as if asleep. After an unknown length of time, their eyes fluttered open one by one, their gazes locking onto the three young speakers. No one spoke, and the intense stares made Lynch's skin crawl.
The next moment, the entire audience rose to their feet. Thunderous applause echoed throughout the tower, everyone brimming with excitement. Such an overwhelming reaction left the three presenters somewhat bewildered.
It was only after President Gulman explained that they realized the exchange had been a resounding success.
It wasn't that their presentation was exceptionally brilliant—after all, anything presented so dully that the speakers themselves almost fell asleep couldn't be all that great—but rather that their experiences inside the mystery relic had gone deep enough to hit all the key points.
Not only had they found several out-of-print books that weren't mystery documents inside the relic and memorized most of them, but they had also interacted directly with what was likely the strongest arcanist in that memory. Most importantly, they had witnessed four consecutive spellcasting processes.
That was the crucial difference.
Through synesthesia, the grandmasters present could not only grasp the contents of those books, but also indirectly experience Dr. Sven's understanding of mystery knowledge dropped through her casual remarks. Furthermore, they could observe every detail of her spellcasting, including unintelligible incantations and complex hand gestures.
Ordinary people simply couldn't fathom the world of these grandmasters. Even an occultist like Diana, who knew a few arcane arts, couldn't comprehend their level. Experiences that seemed completely ordinary to the trio were brimming with profound insights to the masters, who benefited enormously from them.
This gave Miss Diana a deep sense of defeat—until Lynch patted her on the shoulder with a deeply comforted expression.
Lady, welcome to the world of bad students.
Indeed, one is never too old to learn. Lynch immediately picked up another piece of knowledge: when driven mad, even an elegant noble lady would secretly pinch someone—and it hurt quite a bit. What's more, a police officer whose duty was to maintain order would actually applaud such criminal behavior. Lynch felt a pain that cut to his very core—quite literally, from where he was pinched.
The results of the exchange were remarkable. Someone had already comprehended Grasp of the Black Goat on the spot, which was one of the reasons for the roaring applause earlier. Everyone was immensely grateful to the three of them.
It was only through Gulman's explanation that Lynch learned that arcana with specific prefixes differed from general arcana like Flash or Feather Fall; these were specialized arcana.
The latter two were named after the great arcanists who created them, possessing extraordinary power and unique effects. The former two went even further, being direct imitations of the abilities of evil gods. Setting their effectiveness aside, comprehending such arcana allowed one to gain a certain level of understanding regarding the corresponding evil god. Moreover, the Black Goat was said to belong to the highest tier, right alongside the Lord of a Billion Radiance and the God of a Thousand Faces—far more dangerous than ordinary evil gods.
???
Lynch listened in complete bewilderment. So why are you people so thrilled about something like this? Are you all insane? As expected, these guys are walking sources of disaster. The further I stay away from them, the better.
And it wasn't just Grasp of the Black Goat. The other two arcana were also expected to be reconstructed after further study, and several previously unknown arcana might even be deduced from those books. All in all, it was a massive harvest, all thanks to the trio stumbling into luck and latching onto the thickest thigh available.
This made Lynch somewhat curious: if arcana could be unearthed from a relic's memories, why didn't they do this as a dedicated practice? His question gave Gulman quite a shock.
Uncontrolled mystery relics were insanely destructive to the mortal world, and their interiors were rife with danger. Entering them meant risking countless lives every single time. Besides, it was extremely rare to encounter a specialized arcanist inside a relic memory. This was a complete anomaly with no precedent value.
Whatever, contentment is bliss, Lynch consoled himself, though another expectation lingered in his mind.
Since the exchange had yielded such massive rewards, the heroes naturally couldn't be left empty-handed.
Fist of Wisdom—a powerful blunt strike capable of shattering stone pavings and collapsing the ground with a single blow—would be passed on to Miss Diana, as she was suited for this arcana.
Embrace of Fire—a potent arcana that summoned burning stones from the open sky to crush targets—was an arcana recorded in the Arcane Research Society's archives. It would be given to Judy, who was absent, as she was well suited for it.
Grasp of the Black Goat could immobilize a moving target for ten seconds, requiring a breaking strength more than double the caster's strength to escape. Once those who comprehended it went back and summarized it, it would be handed to Lynch as soon as possible, as he was supposedly suited for it.
“Hmm? Why am I suited for this?”
“No idea. Causes in the world of mystery are always cryptic. Perhaps the Black Goat has taken an interest in you.”
“??? We have no grudge between us. Why are you trying to ruin me?”
Unfortunately, his protest was ineffective. Such was Lynch's harvest.
As for Officer Natalie, Gulman simply patted her shoulder, smiling without a word.
Thus, a world where only Stubborn Stone got hurt was realized.
Of course, the society would later negotiate with the Watchers, who would compensate the officer. They wouldn't withhold rewards due to field personnel.
All in all, it was a mutually joyful exchange. The grandmasters were already impatient to begin their true academic discussion, looking at the three with eyes that suggested they were ready to kick them out.
Lynch and the other two hastily slipped out of the conference room. Before the door even closed behind them, fierce arguments and discussions erupted inside.
None of them were angry, however. Having secured their benefits, it was best to leave quickly anyway. Who knew what kind of danger these bizarre individuals might trigger? Besides, coming here today was merely a pit stop; in truth, they had a far more important destination.
Bester Mountain, the stronghold of the hillmen.
They needed to verify whether the hillmen were descendants of Dr. Sven's tribe, and whether the Necronomicon was in their hands.
Owing a favor to anyone else was fine, but one could never owe a favor to an evil god. Since the Lord of a Billion Radiance had kept his promise, Lynch could not break his own vow. He had to find the location of the Necronomicon as soon as possible.
Elder Nikolai, I hope you won't disappoint me.
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