Bernadette looked at the goose meat on her plate; it was clearly inconvenient to eat it with a knife and fork.
But if you put the whole piece of goose meat in your mouth like Oedipus and then spit out the bones, that's not very elegant.
After thinking for a moment, she snapped her fingers, and the bone in the flesh suddenly disappeared, as if it had never been there.
She then used her fork to pick up the goose meat and put it in her mouth.
Bernadette nodded. The taste was not bad; it had the rich aroma of stew, but it wasn't as greasy as regular stewed meat.
Meanwhile, Odis was intently looking at the documents in his hands.
These materials contain high-level intelligence about the "Morse Ascetic Order" and the "Hidden Sages," representing the intelligence accumulation of official extraordinary individuals.
According to intelligence, the most powerful force of the "Morse Penitentiary" is divided into two parts, one of which is the "Ten Pillars," which many extraordinary individuals have heard of.
The so-called "Ten Pillars" are actually ten demigods, who are the main force operating the "Morse Penitentiary," and their leader is an angel.
Any power or industry associated with the "Morse Ascetic Order" can ultimately be traced back to these ten individuals.
For example, Alvis, who died today, was one of the "Ten Pillars". After his death, the "Ten Pillars" became the "Nine Pillars".
Odis remembered that although Cattleya represented the power of the "Morse Penitentiary" at sea, she only truly became a high-ranking member of the "Morse Penitentiary" and one of the "Ten Pillars" after becoming a demigod.
Another extraordinary force, little known to most, is said to be led by an angel and includes demigods as well as "middle-order" extraordinary beings. This force is directly commanded by the "Hidden Sage".
Odis frowned at first, but then quickly realized: there might be followers of other evil gods among the "Ten Pillars," and that hidden power must be completely loyal to the "Hidden Sage."
This proves that the "Hidden Sage" did not completely ignore the infiltration of the "Eternal Whispers" into the "Morse Ascetic Order".
Continuing on, you'll find some information about the "Hidden Sage".
The church has conducted many experiments using captured extraordinary criminals or wild extraordinary beings, and finally concluded that the "Hidden Sage" is a product of unique activation. Although He has His own thoughts and logic, He is very mechanical and cold.
Odis estimated that the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery was the most likely to conduct these experiments, since the "God of Steam and Machinery" and the "Hidden Sage" were adjacent paths.
The document included two case studies. One involved a church that hypnotized a "low-sequence" wild extraordinary individual with the "Hidden Sage" pathway, instructing him to pray to the "Hidden Sage" daily.
After praying for more than ten days, he was given knowledge by the "Hidden Sage".
In other words, the "Hidden Sages" knew of the existence of this Wild Extraordinary, and later they experimented by having this Wild Extraordinary pray with malice and great disrespect.
This was ignored by the "Hidden Sage," who continued to impart knowledge to the wild extraordinary one.
Such knowledge indoctrination caused the wild extraordinary one immense suffering. So, during one particular knowledge indoctrination session, the wild extraordinary one completely opened his mind, allowing the "Hidden Sage" to indoctrinate him at will.
But the "Hidden Sage" unleashed divine punishment, filling the extraordinary man's mind with knowledge, ultimately turning him into a fool.
When the Church reviewed this experiment, it noticed that the "Hidden Sages" instilled knowledge about escaping and dealing with the "Generalist" pathway Beyonders in the Wild Beyonders.
It can be basically concluded that the "Hidden Sage" was able to notice that this extraordinary being was hypnotized by the Church, and should have felt the disdain and malice during those prayers, but He still instilled knowledge into that wild extraordinary being.
The church thus speculated that the process by which the "Hidden Sage" responded to those who prayed and imparted knowledge to ordinary extraordinary beings was a mechanical one.
He responded perhaps because the wild extraordinary being truly thirsted for knowledge, and was later punished by God for not showing enough respect for knowledge during his prayers.
Combining this with other experiments, the final conclusion is that the "Hidden Sage's" criteria are highly mechanical. As long as someone is an extraordinary individual thirsting for knowledge, regardless of their attitude, He is willing to impart knowledge to them—a significant difference from other deities. He seems to possess only divinity and lack humanity, which is why He ignores the emotions of those who pray to Him.
The next case illustrates some of the characteristics of the "Hidden Sage".
He was a scholar of the "Secret Seeker" path in the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, and one day, people suddenly discovered that he had become a follower of the "Hidden Sage".
The scholar was completely oblivious to this, as evidenced by his unbridled praise of the "Hidden Sage," whom he considered the "God of Steam and Machinery."
The church established a very high-level investigation team and discovered that the scholar had reported long ago that he seemed to be watched by the "Hidden Sage".
After extensive investigation, it was finally concluded that the scholar had been noticed by the "Hidden Sage" because he possessed a great deal of knowledge that only he himself knew.
Later, some experiments proved that even if an extraordinary person had never heard of the existence of the "Hidden Sage" and had not prayed to him, the "Hidden Sage" could still pay attention to people who possessed unique knowledge.
Odis paused for a moment, seemingly understanding why the "Hidden Sage" had taken notice of him.
He was noticed because he possessed so much unique knowledge, rather than necessarily because he was aware of the "wilderness of knowledge".
However, it's hard to say for sure. It can only be assumed that initially, it was the knowledge that Odis possessed that made the "Wilderness of Knowledge" aware of him. As for whether the other party noticed the "Wilderness of Knowledge" later, Odis had no way of verifying it.
Odis continued reading, and at the end of the report was a summary of the case: "The Hidden Sage" would notice the knowledge a person possessed because, in a sense, he was "the embodiment of knowledge."
After reviewing all the information, Odis folded up the intelligence provided by the official extraordinary individuals, put it back into the envelope, and handed it to Bernadette: "Thank you."
This was, after all, a gift of gratitude from the official Extraordinary Ones to Bernadette.
Bernadette smiled and said, "You've become an enemy of the 'Morse Ascetic Order,' so there's no harm in learning more about them."
She paused and then said, "The information provided by the official extraordinary individuals is not necessarily entirely accurate. For example, their description of the 'Hidden Sage' does not match my observations."
"In my view, as long as someone has enough knowledge, the 'hidden sage' will be able to spot him."
"It's like there's a standard for every living being in terms of acquiring knowledge, and if you exceed that standard, you'll attract the attention of the 'Hidden Sage'."
"However, while the 'Hidden Sage' can notice extraordinary individuals through many pathways, he can only affect extraordinary individuals through the 'Hidden Seeker' pathway."
Odis pondered for a moment before asking, "So, if a certain extraordinary person possesses knowledge exceeding a certain standard, when the 'Hidden Sage' imparts knowledge, they can locate that person and provide targeted instruction?"
"That's true in theory," Bernadette said. "But the extraordinary path is the first element!"
"Any extraordinary person who follows the 'Hidden Sage' path will be pursued by the 'Hidden Sage'. However, in most cases, the indoctrination below Sequence 5 is basically unconscious indoctrination by the 'Hidden Sage'."
"At this stage, the knowledge lacks focus and is not frequently imparted."
"It's different when you reach Sequence 5. You start to be heavily indoctrinated by the 'Hidden Sage,' and you either have to endure the pain of knowledge indoctrination or accept the transformation by the 'Hidden Sage.'"
"If you have mastered a lot of special knowledge before Sequence 5, you will be given special instruction by the 'Hidden Sage'."
"This situation is rare, but if it does occur, even without the consent of that extraordinary being, the 'Hidden Sage' can transform the other party and eventually make them a devout follower of the 'Hidden Sage'."
Odis suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.
The "Mysterious Queen" looked at Odis solemnly and said, "I estimate that with the unique knowledge you possess, you will receive special attention from Him when you become a Sequence 6."
Odis rubbed his forehead: "Is there any way?"
"The Church of the God of Steam and Machinery must have a way," Bernadette said calmly.
Odis suddenly understood why the Church had given him the Sequence 6 potion recipe. It was both an expression of their goodwill and a way for Odis to seek their help after becoming a Sequence 6, thus forcing him to join the Steam Church.
This casts another shadow over Odis's plan to escape Backlund.
"Of course, I will also help you find the appropriate methods," Bernadette said.
Odis nodded: "Thank you."
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
"As for your earlier question about whether the 'Hidden Sages' have any authority over 'secrecy,' I believe they do, but not much," Bernadette continued.
"In my view, knowledge itself is in a hidden state."
"For example, people discovered that fire was very useful, so they learned how to make fire. This is the learning and mastery of knowledge."
"Nature only shows us the characteristics of fire, but not how to use it. Learning and summarizing how to use fire is knowledge that people acquire through continuous observation and experimentation."
She paused and then said, "Personally, I believe this is the essence of knowledge. In the beginning, it was not presented directly to us, but rather required people to discover and think about it."
"Furthermore, knowledge was originally hidden in nature."
Odis nodded slowly: "This idea is brilliant."
This is the knowledge accumulated by the "Mysterious Queen." She is a person with a similar way of thinking as Odis, so her thinking is similar to Odis's, making her out of place in this extraordinary world.
For Odis, these theories felt like kindred spirits, providing a sense of familiarity in this strange world.
Odis then realized that he could no longer discuss this topic with the "Mysterious Queen" because he had not thought enough about the "Hidden Sage" before.
He felt that this evil god was somewhat like an intelligent computer, and all its reactions were similar to those of a highly advanced artificial intelligence.
To people in this world, it appears cold and mechanical.
However, this viewpoint cannot be explained clearly. You can't exactly explain "intelligent computers" to the "mysterious queen," can you?
So they started talking about something else, and Odis took out the prize money for the official extraordinary: "The prize money for the official extraordinary is a total of 6,000 pounds."
"My proposed distribution is that you and I will each receive 2,300 pounds, and the extraordinary person who provided the important divination and the informant who provided the detailed address of the altar will receive 1,400 pounds."
Bernadette was the main force in destroying the altar during this operation, while Odis, based on a large number of clues, determined that the altar was probably located in the eastern district and used a magic circle to block and seal the pollution.
Their contributions were roughly equal, but Klein's divination provided a specific clue, which was very timely, and Odis believed he should be given 1,000 pounds.
Finally, the informant who provided the detailed address received the remaining 400 pounds.
Bernadette didn't seem to care much about the gold pounds: "I have no objection."
Odis grunted in agreement, counted out 2,300 pounds, and handed it to Bernadette.
The matter was considered settled, and the two chatted and drank for a while before finishing a large bowl of stewed goose.
Odis filled another bowl and then began to talk about Odis's original intention in inviting Bernadette to meet him.
"I plan to draw some magic circles in the East District next week," Odis said. "I need you to help me conceal my movements and temporarily hide those magic circles."
This was a deal the two had agreed upon long ago, and in return, Bernadette would receive a large ship containing Odis's core research.
She immediately agreed: "Okay."
Then she asked, "I still don't understand, what do you want to do?"
"I've deduced from some intelligence that the 'Witch Cult' seems to be planning something in the East District," Odis said with a smile. "But I don't know if this intelligence is true, so just in case, I plan to make some preparations."
After he finished speaking, his nose suddenly grew longer again.
Bernadette said with a hint of helplessness, "When I was communicating with you, I realized it had been a long time since I had used this spell."
However, she was really curious about what Odis was going to do, and at the same time, she had a premonition that Odis's actions were dangerous, so she used this spell.
Little did anyone know that Odis was unable to withstand the test.
Odis had no choice but to say, "I want to save people."
His nose immediately returned to its original shape, and then he said frankly, "I'm sorry, I can't tell you the source of that information right now, so I have to tell a lie."
I probably won't be able to tell Bernadette in the future.
"Then I won't ask," Bernadette said. "If you need my help, pray to me beforehand."
Odis nodded: "Okay."