After finishing the Lunari Canon, Alka closed it and sat on the table, propping his head up to ponder.
The entire book's language and narrative style were saturated with religious overtones, the writing unusually vague and mystical.
Even the canon of the Virgin Mary wasn't this complex.
This kind of canon easily led to a problem: differing interpretations of its various teachings, which could easily lead to a schism in the church over time.
Especially with the Lunari Cult, which lacked belief in a true God.
...Not necessarily; there was no guarantee.
The canon in Alka's hand contained several inserts and annotations. The handwriting on them suggested they were from different sources, and while the gaps might be significant, they at least shared the same philosophy.
Furthermore, the diaries he had read also came from different sources.
The most tattered and least intact of the three, with traces of blood on them, belonged to the person who had first left the Lunari Cult with the artifact. The remaining two volumes belonged to the leader who died when the last temple was destroyed, and to the girl of the two surviving children.
A thread can be discerned from these.
The cult at the time split due to differences in philosophy, and one of the individuals who possessed the artifact at the time happened to leave with it.
They then arrived at the World Scar.
From his diary, Alka could roughly discern the reason for the split. This was because the person who wielded the artifact must have come into contact with the world's ocean of consciousness.
They experienced the world's pain.
Hence, they came to the World Scar to resist demons. It was the simplest and most intuitive place to help alleviate the world's pain.
Because this was the world's most painful wound.
However, the overall teachings of the Moon Worshipers still seemed somewhat strange to Alka. The moonlight they believed in wasn't the actual moon or moonlight, but rather an abstract concept within it.
This was the general concept Alka had gathered from his religious interpretation of the text in his hand.
This cult viewed the darkness of night as akin to the pain and suffering experienced by intelligent life.
They viewed the moonlight in the darkness as salvation from pain and suffering.
Through the text, Alka could see that this so-called pagan cult was surprisingly quite positive.
They worshipped this moonlight, and so they sought to bring salvation to those suffering and ailing—in short, to help others.
Of course, due to differing views on this kind of helping, each person's approach to helping others differed.
Some people were overly extreme, which might be why this cult was labeled a pagan.
"Interesting records! Based on these diaries and texts, I can piece together a story." Passing them around allowed Lucelia to finish reading the books.
At this point, Alka had already opened the map and was looking at the orange beam of light on it. He placed his hand on the beam of light, and the expanded information bar had completely changed.
[Pale Moon]
[Difficulty: Moon Power]
[Popularity: 255]
[Treasure Information: The Moon Cult's most precious treasure, known to them as the Pale Moon. They call it a gift from God. Holding this treasure allows one to transform into the moon and summon pure, flawless light.
The cult fell to ruin due to the loss of this treasure. Centuries ago, due to an accident, this treasure drifted into this war-torn region.
Cover yourself in the moonlight and become the object of admiration of thousands. They look up to you for their assistance, and they thank you for it.
When you are covered in moonlight, when the moon appears, when the night sky darkens, receive the baptism of its light.
Take the pale moon you need to hold before the Moon God statue, and bring light to the suffering in the darkness. (Perfect)
Looking at the information, Alka smiled. As expected.
The three diaries, the scriptures, and the annotations gave Alka a near-complete understanding of this religious group.
He didn't necessarily understand the entire religious group, but at least he understood the party that held the treasure.
The so-called Moon Power and the hidden scepter-level treasure were closely related to the religious teachings.
Alka had once again obtained perfect information about the treasure.
Truthfully, he hadn't encountered such perfect information in a long time. At this stage, even if the information was imperfect, he could still obtain the treasure through various means.
The so-called moonlight-covered body had a clear definition within the cult and the diaries, and the three diaries allowed him to recreate this ritual almost perfectly.
Because two of the three diaries, representing the individuals who left with the treasure from the splinter group and the final temple leader, all successfully completed the ritual.
This crucial experience was perfectly recorded in their diaries.
"In other words, if we want to obtain this treasure, this moonlight-covered ritual must be crucial.
You see, it clearly states that only those who complete this ritual can become Moon Walkers and master the Pale Moon."
Jason finished reading the books, summarizing his understanding based on the information presented.
His understanding was largely consistent with what A-Ka knew, so after hearing his words, A-Ka looked at him and nodded.
"That's right, exactly what you said. So, to obtain this treasure, we must have someone complete the ritual."
After reading the books, the few who had read them all understood the most fundamental requirement for completing the ritual.
That was to be helpful and respectable.
"It'll take thousands of people. Who among us can meet that standard?" Lucelia asked.
When this question was asked, most people present had some idea.
The first two would definitely be Matresa and Alka.
Matresa was the mainstay of the current infirmary. Such a life-saving act was surely admirable.
Alka, on the other hand, possessed elemental cards that allowed him to assemble a variety of attacks to cope with a wide range of situations.
In recent battles, Alka had become a remarkably prominent presence thanks to his diverse strategies, primarily saving numerous soldiers through this method.
However, Matresa was likely still busy at the infirmary, so everyone's eyes turned to Alka.
However, the door opened.
Matresa walked in.
"Everyone's here! I just heard the wounded say you're back."
Mathely entered, looking delighted as she hugged Sofia, whom she hadn't seen in a while.
"Don't the people at the infirmary usually want you to leave at this time?" Alka said, looking at her and smiling.
Mathely smiled at this: "I've been busy for a long time, and they want me to rest. There are no seriously injured patients right now."
Alka nodded, believing it was indeed time for a good rest.
"So why are you all looking at me?" Mathely asked, somewhat curiously, taking in the gazes of the crowd.
"Since we're all here, why not just use this simple ritual to determine if someone has the basic qualifications?" Lucilia said, looking at the book in her hand.
Through the scriptures and diary, we know that there are several ways to easily determine if someone has the basic qualifications.
With that, under Mathilda's puzzled gaze, Lucelia began to prepare, obtaining some materials from Simon.
By blending the materials and her magic, she quickly constructed a simple pendant, a simplistic piece of ore bound together by the roots of a certain plant.
The ore inside was a grayish-white fragment.
Lucelia stared at the ore with her eyes open, muttering a profound and obscure spell using her magic and the language of the white crocodile.
Then the pendant swayed.
"Come on, try it one by one."
Hearing this, everyone stood still. Lucelia, holding the pendant, walked past them one by one.
Depending on the faith, the pendant would emit different radiances. This radiance was a bit like moonlight; the stronger the radiance, the more people admired it.
As the pendant passed by the crowd...
A flash of light shone in front of most of them, until the pendant passed by Matresha.
The pendant's light shone brightly before Matresha's puzzled face, suddenly becoming somewhat dazzling.
The difference between the light that had just passed by Pororo and Jason was like the difference between the stars and the moon.
"Oh, that's a bit outrageous," Jason said with a narrowed eyelid and a smile.
"Four-armed angel, boy," Alka said, looking at Jason.
Indeed, Matresha, having earned such a title on her first day, had earned it well.
Saving someone from near death is the greatest reward.
Looking at the light and the pendant's performance as it passed by the others, Matresha probably understood.
"So, this assistance is related to the number of people you help?"
"Almost, but it's about the degree to which those you help admire you in return, and how much they appreciate your help."
Hearing this, Mathilda nodded, understanding.
However, as the pendant passed in front of Alka, its light remained strong, a bit dazzling.
"Great wizards are different," Jason said, jokingly, looking at him.
Then, as the pendant passed in front of Sofia, the light burst forth again. Even stronger than when it passed Mathilda and Alka, it even began to obscure vision.
"Hmm?"
This truly caught everyone present by surprise.
Lucelia removed the pendant from Sofia's sight and stared at her.
No one could outshine his light now, but this was not what they had imagined.
Everyone turned their heads to look at Sofia.
It was clear that Sofia must have done something recently; otherwise, she wouldn't have such a strong glow.
Finding everyone's gaze, Sofia gave an awkward smile.
She briefly explained, "During my recent support mission, I've made a few small achievements."
She even made a small gesture as she spoke.
Watching this, Alka smiled and took the necklace from Lucilia's hand. She waved it in front of Sofia and said, "That's quite a bit."
To be honest, everyone was a little curious.
What had Sofia done during her recent support mission to earn her such admiration?
Looking at her, Alka might have had a few ideas.
First, Sofia's fighting style was incredibly impactful, especially on the battlefield against demons.
Such impact could almost guarantee a morale boost. Think about it carefully.
What are the demons' advantages? Besides numbers, they stem from their formidable physiques and their extremely bellicose and bloodthirsty chaotic natures.
Even within the same level, there are strengths and weaknesses.
The strongest demons of the same level are somewhat like those who possess treasures, possessing powerful abilities.
When facing such demons, even those who possess a treasure must be cautious. It's not as easy to defeat them as it is with other demons of the same level.
Because humans, under normal circumstances, have reached the third stage and above, they possess treasures.
From this point on, humans have an advantage in terms of quality.
Of course, these advantages also depend on the nature of the treasures; you can't let those with auxiliary powers confront demons head-on.
Sofia's combination of treasures makes her incredibly dazzling on the battlefield. Just watching her display of might is inspiring enough.
Take today, for example.
When Sofia first appeared, transformed into a meteor, and with a single kick, she instantly killed the giant one-eyed demon, sending it careening like a ball.
At that sight, Alka could sense the morale of the soldiers around him soar.
In such a life-or-death battle, where morale is low and even somewhat despairing, that glimmer of hope is incredibly important.
"It seems you'll need to acquire this treasure."
After a moment's thought, Alka turned and said, "Prepare the materials for the ritual and wait for the right moment."
As mentioned above, the ritual requires a night when the sky is completely dark, with only the moon visible.
Such nights are rare, and it's important to remember that most of the time, there's more than just the moon in the sky, and there might not even be a moon at all. After all, this world no longer has a moon.
‐‐Arka seriously suspected that this moon was borrowed from someone else.
‐‐The moon would appear from time to time, sometimes alongside other stars and the Milky Way.
‐‐Only during rare periods of time would the entire night sky be utterly pitch black, with only the moon hanging high in the sky.
‐‐Waiting for such a time was quite difficult, as there were only a few days in a year.
‐‐However, fortunately, they hadn't experienced such a night for a long time, which meant that another one wouldn't be long in the future.
‐‐It would always come once every few months.
‐‐They were currently engaged in a fierce defensive battle on the front lines, so they didn't have much time to worry about such things.
After sorting things out, Alka clapped his hands and said with a smile, "Alright, everyone, get some rest. We have a good fight tomorrow. It's good that we finally accomplished something, isn't it?"
"Ah, another scepter-level treasure is so close. We're so amazing!" Jason sighed, leaning back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.
Hearing this, Ululius beside him silently placed her hand over Jason's mouth.
"Oh, shut up! Have you been infected by the dragon bloodline?" Ululius was already narcissistic enough that she felt a little embarrassed at this moment.
Everyone present knew that the reason they were able to obtain the treasure so quickly was entirely due to Alka's unique sense of smell for treasures, which he could detect based on the map.
This was why Alka was the core of the team, and he played a leading role most of the time.
Despite possessing such abilities, he was also a relatively cautious and responsible person.
It was precisely because of his abilities that the people on board never considered the problems that came with profit.
As a seafarer, How could they not know that profit is paramount to a team?
It's enough to tear even a close-knit group apart, even turning them into enemies.
However, with Alka's help, these interests became irrelevant to them.
Besides their more or less decent character, it's hard not to wonder if Alka's contribution accounted for the lion's share of this.
They simply needed to work together with their companions to achieve their goals.
And their personalities were all quite good.
This was why they stayed together, without any bizarre or strange conflicts.
Because the so-called core of the conflict: profit.
For them, there really wasn't any problem.
Especially when the benefits they could easily obtain were so vastly different from those of the rest of the world, there was no need to dwell on them.
Without comparison, there was no gap.
"What do you mean by 'infected by dragon blood'?" Jason asked, momentarily unsure.
Everyone couldn't help but smile at this.
Urulius suddenly didn't know what to say. He couldn't possibly say 'narcissism is in the dragon bloodline,' wouldn't that be insulting himself?
The frontline walls continued to defend against the demons.
They were also enjoying this rare moment of rest.