"Apu, chaos."
"Luno, despair."
"Rexi... death?"
Wei'en read this and couldn't help but look up. 'So that's what those few syllables the two Xiaoxis have been muttering on about meant.'
"Aus, darkness?"
Great. Not a single word was related to anything positive.
This is so Ghost!
Wei'en shook his head and continued to flip through *Gonzalez Language (Introductory)*.
Compared to the Oldes language, which had only seventy-two characters, the Gonzalez language clearly had far more, with 4,832 characters known to date.
The introductory version provided by the Ghosts, however, only contained 322 characters, which were just the most commonly used terms.
It didn't seem like much, but it took Wei'en a full three hours to memorize and read through the entire scroll.
At the same time, he also discovered another benefit of his increased Spirit Level—an incredibly strong memory.
After just one reading, he had committed the contents of the parchment to heart.
"It's not that hard. Pretty simple, actually."
Wei'en set down the parchment and let out a long sigh. "If I had this ability in my past life, I wouldn't have been such a terrible student... even the top students would have had to carry my shoes!"
However, this very point also made him more aware of how different the worlds were.
After all, he belonged to two different worlds now.
[Congratulations, you have learned *Gonzalez Language (Introductory)*. Evaluation: Ancient knowledge often hides unknown secrets. Reward: Spirit Level +1.]
'Learning an Extraordinary language gives a reward, too?'
Such a notification flashed through Wei'en's mind, and he hurriedly opened his panel to check.
Name: Wei'en Loft
Bloodline: Sarut Descendant
Class: Wizard Apprentice (Beginner)
Resilience Level: 15
Spirit Level: 22.18
Origin: 3 (3)
Talent: None
Skills: Ghost Meditation Technique Lv. 2 (0/100), Gonzalez Language - Introductory (0/10)
Survival Points: 28
[Note 1: Gonzalez Language - Introductory indicates mastery of only a very small portion of the language's vocabulary. When attempting to decipher unknown Gonzalez words, the success rate of correct comprehension is only 10%. This can be increased with auxiliary tools.]
'Gonzalez Language - Introductory? A translation success rate of only ten percent?'
Wei'en was stunned for a moment. 'So languages are skills, too... What am I waiting for? Time to add points!'
He immediately acted on the thought, choosing to upgrade his Gonzalez Language skill.
After he used his Survival Points to raise Gonzalez Language to 10/10 and selected "Yes" to upgrade, a new notification appeared on the panel.
[Congratulations, your Gonzalez Language skill has been upgraded to Proficient. Evaluation: You have earned the qualification to seek out secrets. Special Reward: Spirit Level +1, Resilience Level +1.]
[Note: Gonzalez Language - Proficient indicates mastery of a small portion of the language's vocabulary. When attempting to decipher unknown Gonzalez words, the success rate of correct comprehension is 20%. This can be increased with auxiliary tools.]
As if it had been unlocked, a portion of knowledge appeared directly in Wei'en's mind—it was a new set of Gonzalez vocabulary.
It was a full three times larger than the introductory part he had just learned!
"A total of one thousand three hundred and fifty-six characters."
Wei'en opened his eyes, a flash of wisdom in their depths. It was as if a secret corner of the world had been opened to him, giving him the feeling that he could see through everything.
At the same time, he also learned some fragments of lore related to the Gonzalez language.
In the late Second Era, an Ancient God named Gonzalez created this language to help all sapient beings touch the Extraordinary and become Extraordinary...
'Ancient God... Gonzalez...'
[You have learned a portion of a lost secret. Ancient God Gonzalez's awakening progress +1 (Current Progress: 33/???). Special Reward: Origin +1.]
Another notification appeared in his mind. Wei'en calmly examined his panel.
'So this world really does have "gods," and a sleeping Ancient God at that!'
'Awakening progress +1, and the current progress is 33... Does that mean only thirty-three people in the whole world know the secrets of the Ancient God Gonzalez?'
'Or have only thirty-three fragments of the secret been uncovered?'
But in either case, the number was pitifully small.
As the most widely used Extraordinary language, almost every Extraordinary knew of the existence of the Gonzalez language.
Why was there such a huge discrepancy?
Wei'en frowned in thought. 'Looks like I have one more thing to investigate... the little-known Ancient God Gonzalez!'
'And the effect of this Origin... is the improvement to my body this obvious?'
Wei'en carefully sensed the changes in his body. Compared to before, his body had indeed become more "agile."
The increase in Origin was somewhat similar to an increase in Spirit Level, making his body feel lighter and his five senses sharper.
If he could hear from a maximum distance of 100 meters before, then a 1-point increase in Origin added 10 meters to that range.
A ten percent or so improvement... Incredible!
Just then, the Lantern Bearer's low, hoarse voice came from outside the window. "Praise the Lord of Dawn."
"Damn it!" Wei'en realized the sky had already grown dark.
He quickly got up, went to the side to turn on the wall lamp, then struck a match and carefully lit a candle on the table. Only then did his expression relax.
These two steps were another one of this world's strange customs.
Almost every household turned on their gas lamps before nightfall and also had to light a candle provided by the Dawn Church.
The gas and candles alone cost three shillings a month.
But this was an unavoidable expense.
Because the nights under the red moon were the most dangerous—after nightfall, if one did not stay within the light of the Dawn, something truly terrible would happen!
In his predecessor's memories alone, there were no fewer than a hundred related stories.
And the protagonist of every story met an extremely miserable end. It was said their state at death was a kind of horror that could not be described with words.
Therefore, there was very little nightlife in the Caster City State.
This was also why he had been so interested when Lisi offered to show him the nightlife.
He was very curious what kind of entertainment could make them disregard the terror of the red moon and venture out.
"DONG, DONG DONG..."
The bells of Krimms Cathedral rang out right on time, signaling the official arrival of night in the Caster City State.
With it came a dazzling ray of light that shone through the window.
"Hm?" Wei'en got up and walked to the window, looking up at the sky. "That's..."
In the distance, above Krimms Cathedral, a huge ball of light was slowly rising. Faintly visible within the light was a holy figure.
"The night shall pass, and the Dawn will last forever."
"May the radiance of the Lord of Dawn forever shine upon the world, may all that is good in the world..."
Immediately after, a magnificent sound arose, like the singing of young children, praising the legend of the Lord of Dawn.
However, Wei'en paid no attention to these sounds. Instead, his eyes were wide, staring blankly into the mid-air.
'So damn white... no, I mean, so holy.'
'It's just, the Dawn Church shouldn't be this poor. They must be raking it in just from selling candles.'
'Why couldn't they at least give the person some clothes?'