The large black hardcover book automatically flipped open in Miss Daniste's hand, making a rustling sound.
While she was flipping through the book, Xia De hesitated, wondering whether to discuss the topic of "Sublimation Words" with her.
A Thirteen Ring Sorcerer certainly wouldn't be ignorant of the secret of the Sublimation Words, but before he could speak, the lady opposite him proactively brought up the issue:
"Mr. Hamilton, I've read the report compiled by Dorothy Louisa. Since you witnessed the Sublimation Words up close, it's impossible for you not to be curious about it."
Her eyes remained on the flipping pages, but she was definitely speaking to Xia De.
"Yes, I am indeed curious... That kind of power doesn't seem like the power of mortals."
He carefully chose his words.
"It is indeed not the power of mortals. To be precise, the Ring術士 system, which only took shape in the mid-to-late fifth epoch and gradually replaced the witch's transcendent system, contains secrets that are likely directly related to gods. After the Ten Ring, Ring術士 will gradually understand what kind of power they truly possess, and the Church and mainstream academic views believe that the Sublimation Words are the words of gods, which is why they possess the power to sublimate mortals."
This was very close to the truth Xia De knew. Mortals could not face gods directly, so it was impossible for him to directly know the truth through his own observation like a doctor.
As the conversation began, he wanted to express his own views, but then he noticed the flipping book had stopped.
"Oh, there's an answer."
Miss Daniste said, reaching out to take the book floating in front of her into her hand:
"The combination of 【Silver Moon】, 【Time-Space】 and 【gluttony】, 【Echo】... Good luck, there really is one. Oh, what a coincidence, this was written down by the founder of Saint Byron's, and it's one of the first Sublimation Words recorded in this "the codex of sublime"... I should have started flipping from the beginning just now."
Her right hand moved through the air, making luminous characters appear one by one. Once the sentence was formed, she gently flicked it, and the characters turned in the air, revealing the answer to Xia De.
Xia De leaned in to look, and the sentence was—
【The Echo of Time-Space Vibrates the Sleep Power.】
"Time-Space, Echo, Vibration, Sleep, Power."
Miss Daniste listed the Ling Rune Xia De needed. Although Xia De had not deeply understood the difficulty of obtaining the remaining three Ling Rune, just from the meaning represented by the Ling Rune itself, Sleep, Vibration, and Power did not seem very difficult.
The meaning of this sentence itself made Xia De ponder what kind of scene would appear once he used the power of Sublimation Words like the doctor.
For some reason, the scene where he stood in the void and heard the bell when he witnessed the fall of the 【Guardian of Innocence】 automatically appeared in his mind.
"The Echo of Time-Space..."
Silently reciting this sentence in his heart, for some reason, matters concerning the "whispering chapters" also came to mind. Miss Annette had clearly stated that mainstream opinion believed that the opening of the final door mentioned in the "whispering chapters" signified the revival of the old gods. And this Sublimation Words Xia De chose also seemed to imply a similar meaning.
"A coincidence?"
He could only think this for now.
"You're very lucky, Mr. Hamilton, I originally thought I wouldn't be able to find it. Although the academy's accumulation of Sublimation Words has reached four digits, the number of Ling Rune is an astronomical figure. It's not easy to piece together a specific combination from them. Your luck is truly good."
She closed the book in her hand and casually tossed it onto the stack of books on the coffee table. Only then did Xia De have a chance to see the book's cover. The title was, of course, "the codex of sublime," but the cover illustration was the profile of a woman wearing a hood.
It was hand-painted with oil paints, and the colors were exceptionally vibrant. Miss Daniste saw Xia De looking at the book curiously and introduced it:
"This is the founder of the academy, Miss Mana Feilianna, a witch who lived in the fifth epoch. Many oil paintings record the image of this lady, and as for the portrait on this book, it was painted by my previous Library administrator herself, and it is basically consistent with the oil painting preserved by the academy."
Saying that, she handed Xia De another document to sign. The document confirmed that Xia De · Su Lun · Han Mi Er Dun had viewed the academy's the codex of sublime and confirmed that he had obtained the next step in his advancement.
After signing the document, it meant that Xia De's Two Ring, Three-Ring Arcanist, and Four Ring courses would be adjusted around the three unobtained runes to adapt to Xia De's Ring術士 power system.
And after all this was done, the matter of the Sublimation Words was concluded. Miss Daniste casually placed the document on the stack of books on the coffee table, leaned slightly back against the sofa, with her ten slender fingers pressed together, and her head tilted slightly, as if deep in thought.
Although this lady was a bit older, her face was beautiful, and coupled with her identity as the Library administrator, her temperament was quite outstanding:
"Mr. Hamilton, let's continue our previous topic. Using an angel-level relic to bring you to the academy, you probably understand that there are things that must be discussed in person. To be precise, I need a Ring術士 who wields the power of the Moon to help me with something."
"Does it have to be me?"
Moon-related runes were not uncommon, and Xia De didn't believe that such a large Saint Byron's only had him.
"There are a total of 103 students and teachers whose core runes are related to the Moon and meet this condition. I tried to find some people to help, but their core runes were not pure enough. Besides your 【Silver Moon】 and my 【Red Moon】, the pure Moon core runes also include 【Moon of the Night Sky】, 【Half-Crescent Moon】, 【Moonlight Radiance】, 【Moonlight】. I have already approached all four of them, and none of them could help me."
She shook her head regretfully, while Xia De pondered what kind of matter required such extensive effort.
"According to the academy's rules, Letter-based Ring術士 are not allowed to enter the academy by any means before their group is permitted to come to Saint Byron's. This time, I broke the rules and was even fined three years' salary for it. But I think it's worth it. If 【Silver Moon】 is not feasible, then there's no other way."
"What exactly needs to be done?"
Xia De asked cautiously, feeling that the lady opposite him seemed to have a lot of confidence in him.
"It's very simple, look at this."
She beckoned behind her, and immediately, a black-covered book flew from a distant bookshelf and landed perfectly in her hand. This was not a complicated spell; the basic spell 【Moving Objects】, which is telekinesis, could achieve this effect.
"Open it."
She handed the book to Xia De, who stood up and bent down to take it. The cover was completely black, without any patterns or text. The first page was blank, and all subsequent pages were the same.
"Blank pages, right?"
Miss Daniste asked.
"Yes."
He looked again at the light from the chandelier above his head, but there was no trace of anything.
"Summon your Destiny Ring and let the spiritual light of 【Silver Moon】 illuminate this book."
This method sounded somewhat familiar, like how Xia De opened the hidden space in the basement. But even after doing so, the blank pages remained blank.
"Still blank."
"Hmm... as expected."
The red-haired Thirteen Ring Sorcerer thought for a moment:
"Open this book and place it on the coffee table between us, maintaining the spiritual light illuminating its pages."
"What exactly are we doing?"
He thought to himself while glancing at the coffee table, then placed the book in his hand on top of the tallest stack of books. After he sat down again, he noticed that Miss Daniste opposite him had also fully summoned her Destiny Ring. Xia De glanced at it; her core runes were also two, 【Forbidden Book】 and 【Red Moon】.
The rune of 【Red Moon】 flashed with spiritual light, illuminating the open book's pages along with Xia De's 【Silver Moon】.
The Detective and the Library administrator both looked at the blank paper illuminated by the light, and then simultaneously saw blurry dark blue ink appear on the pages. But the ink seemed as if it had been soaked in water; they could only confirm that there were words and even pictures, but neither could discern what they were.
"This means we're still missing..."
"yellow moon?"
Xia De supplemented, and Miss Daniste nodded, indicating that Xia De could retract his Destiny Ring.
Tilting her head slightly to gaze at the blank pages, Miss Daniste frowned:
"It seems that only when the powers of the three types of Moon appear simultaneously can this book reveal its content. 【yellow moon】 core rune... Saint Byron's certainly doesn't have it..."
She fell into thought, and Xia De did not disturb her, but instead looked around with interest.
Presumably, knowing that the Library administrator was meeting guests here, none of the surrounding footsteps approached this way. Xia De had originally hoped to interact with the students at Saint Byron's, envisioning his life a few years or even decades later, and then sharing his experiences with Doctor Schneider when he returned, but it seemed there would be no opportunity this time.
"Although I still haven't been able to see the contents of the book, at least I've found a direction."
It was a full ten minutes before Miss Daniste spoke, snapping her fingers, and the black book automatically flew back into the depths of the bookshelf.
"Mr. Hamilton, I'm afraid I'll have to find you again soon, but that will be after I find the 【yellow moon】 core rune."
"No problem, I'm available anytime."
Xia De nodded gently, then hesitated:
"However, may I ask about that book...?"
A perfectly timed pause.
"This is not the academy's business, it's my own. For years, I've been searching for the location of the 'Sage's Library,' where I hope to find the Knowledge I seek."
"Sage's Library?"
Miss Daniste smiled:
"Mr. Hamilton, you must think this is some ancient relic."
She was right.
"But this is not a relic; it is a temple left by a certain deity. To be precise, the most ancient Moon God..."
Xia De's heart skipped a beat, and the image of the female figure on the 【Origin · Silver Moon】 card automatically appeared before his eyes.
"Before the most ancient Moon God departed, she left behind a Library. That Library is hidden in the crevices of history and time; no method can directly enter it, but it contains Knowledge that records the entire world. From my youth... A long time ago, when I was a student like you, I pursued this secret, and only recently did I obtain this book from a relic in the New World. This is probably the end of the pursuit."
"So the Sage is... the Moon God of old?"
The "Sage's Library" was very likely a place similar to the "Time Corridor," "Space Labyrinth," or "Creation Birthing Chamber," but Xia De was more concerned about the ancient Moon God.
Miss Daniste waved her finger, directing the teapot on the coffee table to pour her tea. Her voice was very soft, as if she was afraid a third person might hear:
"I rarely discuss this topic with anyone, but since you asked, it's not impossible to answer, just please don't tell a third person.
Mr. Hamilton, perhaps Professor Garcia has mentioned ancient gods to you. The original Moon God was one of the Thirteen Ancient Gods, referred to by mortals as 【Mysterious Lady】, 【Moon Goddess】, 【Lady of the Night】, etc., but the most common title for this departed deity is—"
She deliberately paused, and the answer appeared almost immediately in Xia De's mind:
"Silver Moon Sage."