They all call me Great Master

Darkness!

Pure darkness, without a trace a light.

Arthur felt an unprecedented oppression.

It was not just difficulty breathing, but also his heart—

Thump, thump-thump!

Arthur's heart began to beat in an intense way like never before.

With each contraction and expansion, pain radiated from his chest!

Instantly, Arthur instinctively placed his hand on his chest, opened his mouth wide trying to breathe, but immediately his body stiffened in place.

Eyes!

A pair after pair of crimson eyes appeared above the dark canopy!

Like sun, like moon!

As if they were the eternal stars that had never changed!

They, she, it, or They swept their gaze over, their looks filled with coldness, cruelty, chaos, bloodshed, distortion, destruction, despair.

Hum!

[Death Intuition] flickered at an unprecedented speed, like a hundred-watt bulb!

Paralyzed in place, Arthur had never felt so insignificant.

As insignificant as dust.

As insignificant as an ant.

Those looks did not linger for long, and in a flash, they all withdrew.

But it was this moment that nearly caused Arthur's sanity to collapse.

Huff! Huff!

Arthur gasped heavily, his vision blurring before him.

In the rapid shaking, text started to emerge—

[Glyphic Language (Basic) Lv1 (-/-): Words once genuinely held power, but as time passed, most people forgot their strokes, their pronunciations, even their existence had been forgotten, only a few Gifted Ones could glimpse a fraction of them; Hercules once sought the origins of these words, but when asked, this Master chose to remain silent; now you have grasped the basics of this language, you can read some texts recorded in Glyphic Language.]

...

'Words truly have power!'

Arthur's gaze passed over this phrase, and involuntarily thought of those gazes he had just seen.

What were those gazes just now?

Almost the moment he thought of those gazes, horror flashed in Arthur's eyes, and his body once again shuddered uncontrollably.

Although he had already suspected, and Graham's diary had described the dangers of learning [Glyphic Language] more than once, he had never imagined such a terrifying scene.

A pair after pair of eyes, like stars falling from the sky, appeared before him, watching him!

That feeling made him feel as if he was suffocating from deep within his soul!

Massive, crimson, boundless.

And...

The negative emotions in those gazes were like the ocean under a maelstrom, threatening to engulf him.

'What would it be like if such gazes truly fell upon me?'

Unintentionally, this thought surfaced in Arthur's mind.

Afterwards, he started to involuntarily shift his thoughts away.

But inexplicably, he thought about those gazes again, albeit in a different way.

'Why didn't Graham mention those gazes in his diary?'

Arthur wondered.

He quickly recalled, confirming that Graham had definitely not written about those gazes in his diary.

And just as he was ready to revisit Graham's diary, to check for anything he might have missed, his heart suddenly clenched, followed by bone-chilling cold.

[Death Intuition] flickered once more!

Immediately, Arthur realized.

He mustn't think about those gazes any longer!

You must not record those gazes!

Otherwise, bad things will happen.

Arthur's eyes were darker than ever before.

'Is it dangerous just to think about it?'

'Is this the true Mystic Side?'

'It's more terrifying than I anticipated!'

With these thoughts at the bottom of his heart, Arthur stood up and left the secret chamber.

He would not joke with his own life.

Therefore, he would definitely not think about those gazes again, let alone record them.

Experience had taught Arthur that to completely stop thinking about something, one should focus on something else.

With a cup of hot cocoa and a few slices of bread in hand, Arthur returned to the Spirit Medium Parlor and once again opened the book left by Graham.

Not the two diaries.

But the one completely recorded in Glyphic Language that contained many secret techniques and rituals.

Unlike the direct decoding of Talent "Omnivorous," Arthur, having grasped the basics of Glyphic Language, gained a deeper understanding of those secret techniques and rituals as he read.

For instance, he learned that to create "Drool of Apophis," one needed three Poisonous Snake Fangs, a thirty-centimeter-long Snake Vine, and a piece of pure Amber, to be placed into 10 liters of strong liquor and boiled over a large fire for six hours, resulting in a pale blue liquid that is the potion itself.

For example, he learned that the two unknown secret techniques brought by Graham were "Touch of the Vampire" and "Eulogy of Ilos."

He also learned the secret technique given to him by Marinda, which was "Smoke Mirror Usurpation."

However, knowing was one thing, but still, he was unable to learn them due to a lack of 'Spirituality' or missing essential items.

As for "Touch of the Vampire," in addition to the necessary 'Spirituality,' it required a material called 'Vampire's Fang'—not the vampire Arthur conventionally knew of, but a type of resurrected corpse, somewhat akin to a ghoul.

And more exaggeratedly, the "Eulogy of Ilos" actually required the learner to collect both good dreams and nightmares, with no specific quantity, but one must collect enough—a seemingly long and vague process.

In contrast, Marinda's given "Smoke Mirror Usurpation" seemed more accessible, only requiring sufficient 'Spirituality.'

Of course, Arthur mainly focused on reading about the methods of harmonizing and restraining 'Spirituality.'

In the legacy left by Graham, three rituals for harmonizing and restraining 'Spirituality' were recorded: "Cat Hole Theory. Incomplete," "Talin Sect Meditation Method. Incomplete," and "Assassin's Blood Secret Teachings. Incomplete!"

These three rituals, coming from different factions, also represented three methods of harmonizing and restraining 'Spirituality'—

"Cat Hole Theory. Incomplete" detailed the precept: "Orange Cat."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Talin Sect Meditation Method. Incomplete" detailed the oath: "Tower Oath."

"Assassin's Blood Secret Teachings. Incomplete" detailed the indulgence: "Bloodlust."

Among them, the "Tower Oath" simply required finding a tower over 10 meters tall, under the stars, consuming 'Talin's Potion' made from brewing Moon Grass, and then swearing with one's true name 'to keep learning with a humble heart and maintain more than 6 hours of study daily'.

But if one breaks the oath, they will face death.

Real death, with no chance of turning back.

"Bloodlust" was even more straightforward: killing twelve personal enemies, bathing in their blood under the scorching sun while silently reciting the true ecstasy of killing that comes from within, and then with each enemy killed thereafter, the ritual performer could bathe in fresh blood and gain immense pleasure.

However, as this pleasure built up, the performer could develop an obsession, which, if not controlled, would lead to a profound emptiness in normal state.

The end result?

They would become nothing more than a tool for killing for the sake of pleasure.

Arthur was well aware of the fragility of reason, which could collapse at the slightest temptation, especially when faced with certain pleasures that could rapidly descent one into the abyss.

Others were like that.

He was no exception.

Therefore, the only option was to stay away!

Just once, and that would be hell!

By the same token, maintaining a humble heart was the same.

You could remain humble in front of a master, but when facing someone who seems inferior to you, would you still have a humble heart?

Even if you're restrained.

It's still remarkably difficult.

After all, 'pride' is a cardinal sin.

So among the three rituals, Arthur chose "Orange Cat."

Because, that was safe.

This chapter upload first at NovelBin.Com