Edwina's study truly is a "study," with bookshelves lining all four walls, filled to the brim with all sorts of books, from ancient texts and notebooks to modern hardcover publications.
As soon as Odis entered, Edwina told him that the magical item he had requested for the "audience" pathway had been found.
Odis made no attempt to hide his surprise: "So fast."
The oval-faced "iceberg general" smiled and said, "That's because you were a great help in today's operation."
At least that's what she thought. Upon returning to the ship, she immediately wrote a letter to her teacher, Banner, informing him of the exploration process and results, as well as Odis's joining and the contributions made by this "great pirate."
Bennett replied quickly, before Edwina went to the Argo, instructing her to try to win over this "great pirate".
At the time, she didn't pay much attention to it. After all, any force would try to win over such a promising "great pirate".
However, after Edwina returned to the ship, she received a long letter from her teacher Bennet, informing her that the sealed item requested by "Captain Gar" was currently undergoing a "gifting process" and would be delivered to Edwina by a messenger by tomorrow at the latest.
Bennett also gave detailed instructions for the upcoming exploration.
This speed is indeed quite fast. Generally speaking, the process of the church "paying off the seal" usually takes at least a week.
Edwina believes that it was Odis's goodwill that won the teacher's appreciation, which is why he was so proactive.
After all, killing the black spider yields an extraordinary material for advancing to demigod status.
Odis smiled and said, "Thank you."
"This is what you deserve." Edwina sat in her chair, much like a scholar receiving guests in her study. "As for the clues we obtained in the dark room, I now formally invite you to join the next exploration of that extraordinary property."
This was something Edwina couldn't understand. She had thought her teacher would ask her to spend money to buy out this clue, and that the church would never be stingy with money in the face of the characteristics of a demigod.
Odis was slightly taken aback. This was something he had been hoping for, but it was also something he hadn't expected.
Edwina's invitation meant that if that demigod-level characteristic could be found, Odis would own half of it, and the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom would have to pay a considerable price to buy his half.
Unexpected as it may have been, Odis certainly wouldn't refuse such an invitation: "Alright."
He paused and then said, "But we lack enough clues right now. I suggest we stay in touch and gather some intelligence before discussing the exploration."
For example, Odis planned to go to Bernadette to find a Quaternary sea chart to compare with the location of the island in the mural.
"That's what I think too," Edwina said. "Ancient battlefields like that must be extremely dangerous, and we need to be fully prepared before we can take action."
Then she added, "This is precisely the issue I invited you here to discuss with you."
"Theoretically speaking, I should have heard of such a dangerous island, but I don't remember seeing any information about it."
Sitting next to Edwina, Odis thought for a moment before saying, "Could it be that the island is in a 'dangerous sea'? It hasn't appeared before the world for over a thousand years, so it has been forgotten by people."
Edwina nodded: "That's possible."
She took a deep breath and said, "If we need to enter 'dangerous waters,' we'll need to do even more preparation."
The two discussed it for a while, but because they had too few clues, they couldn't come to any conclusions.
After exchanging instructions on how to summon messengers, Odis rose to take his leave.
Opening the study door, Odis saw many crew members of the "Golden Dream," some diligently sweeping the corridor, others wiping the walls; everyone looked very busy.
Odis smirked and said to Edwina, who was seeing him off, "I suddenly remembered another question that I'd like to discuss with you."
After saying that, he closed the study door again, and the crew members in the corridor glared angrily at the doorway.
Edwina smiled in the study and said, "The 'Scroll Professors' I've met are generally very composed."
The Church of Knowledge also cultivated a group of extraordinary individuals who followed the path of "peeping into secrets."
Those who excel in these two avenues make excellent partners in learning knowledge and exploring issues.
Odis smiled and said, "A little prank now and then helps to relieve the monotony of life at sea."
After chatting for two or three minutes, Odis reopened the door. The crew members in the corridor quickly stood aside, all smiles. Some invited Odis to have a drink, some invited him to go fishing, and some invited him to visit the captain's collection room.
"Let's visit again next time," Odis said with a smile. "I have other things to do today."
After seeing the annoying "Captain Gar" finally leave, smiles unconsciously appeared on the faces of every crew member.
First Mate Blue, in particular, had a dry mouth, probably due to dehydration. When he smiled, he revealed two missing teeth.
...
After Odis returned to the Argo, he immediately ordered the ship to set sail and return to Cruz Island.
There, a small-scale naval battle might take place, and the "Ghost" alone wouldn't be enough.
Odis first divided the two extraordinary creatures that he and the crew had hunted on the island. Since Odis, the first mate, the second mate, and the combat captain were the main ones who took action, they received 60% of the spoils, and the rest was divided among the other crew members.
Odis first paid to take the corpses of the two extraordinary creatures, and then promised to sell the extraordinary materials as soon as possible.
He noticed that the two extraordinary materials were likely the main materials for advancing to "Sun Priest" and "Magician," respectively. If he could contact Edwina, they should sell quite well.
The two pieces of extraordinary material would easily fetch over a thousand pounds. The crew was delighted to have received a bonus of over a hundred pounds for their simple outing.
Odis then sent Bazel back to Bayam and Rupert back to Cruz Island.
Afterwards, Odis returned to her studio and locked the door from the inside.
At this point, the potion was almost completely digested, and Odis knew how to digest the remaining potion.
He planned to go to the "wilderness of knowledge" to retrieve the "dreams" of the "true creator" that he had previously obtained from Klein's "Master of Mystic Puppet" characteristics.
If we could make a few scrolls from this level of material, the potion would be able to be digested immediately.
But before that, Odis first had to examine the spoils of the operation and do some preparatory work.
The spoils of this operation consisted of two items: one was the "Shimmering Star Tree" that Odis currently needed, an extraordinary material that had already crystallized.
Odis first collected the extraordinary materials, then picked the fruits and leaves, and used tools to peel off the bark and collect the sap.
The second trophy was the giant black spider. Extraordinary creatures of this caliber are treasures from head to toe; its eight legs, Odis, can be crafted into melee weapons with magical effects.
Its blood, internal organs, toxins, eyes, and so on can all be used to make scrolls, and its outer shell can also be used to make a suit of armor.
However, in Odis's hands, this corpse could be valued at far more than 6,000 pounds.
After dismembering the black spider and collecting the spiritual materials, Odis sat at her workbench, gazing at the black liquid in the glass bottle before her, lost in thought.
These black slimes seem harmless now because they are currently in the "wilderness of knowledge." If they were brought into the real world, Odis would definitely be driven crazy by their "babbling."
Forget about figuring out how to make scrolls; we should be thankful if things don't spiral out of control immediately.
The study of these "talks" can take place in the "wilderness of knowledge," but it is essential to create scrolls in the real world.
Odis pondered for a while, but couldn't come up with a good solution.
Just as he was about to ask the "mysterious queen" for help, he suddenly looked at the black spider shell that he had just put away.
Odis suddenly had a good idea. He immediately took those shells to the real world, cut them with tools, and then began to draw magic circles inside the shells.
After drawing the four magic circles, Odis assembled them into a square, activating the small composite magic circle.
Then he took a deep breath and retrieved the ramblings of the "true creator" from the "wilderness of knowledge."
The moment Odis received the real world, he heard a sound that felt like his head was about to explode. The sound wasn't very harsh, but it felt like his brain was being magnified with iron clamps.
Odis quickly threw the glass bottle into the square he had just made, and the insane babbling immediately disappeared.
He took two deep breaths, and only after confirming that his condition was not affected did he reach into the box and touch the glass bottle again.
Just as he expected, the murmured voice did not appear.
Or rather, it appeared, but didn't reach his ears.
If Odis hadn't just obtained the shell of that black spider, even if he had come up with this idea, he wouldn't have had any good materials to use.
This black spider is an extraordinary creature of the "Mystic" pathway. It has an affinity with the "whispers" in the glass bottle. The small composite magic circle designed by Odis is to allow the black spider's shell to help it withstand the "whispers".
With such affinity, "talking" will prioritize attacking the newly created frame.
The effect was better than expected; as long as the glass bottle was inside the frame, Odis could hardly hear the "murmurs".
With the most crucial problem solved, Odis once again placed the "talking" back into the "wilderness of knowledge" and began his research on the "talking".
He spent four or five days in the "wilderness of knowledge" and finally figured out how to use "dreams" to write scrolls.
Theoretically speaking, this is a spiritual material comparable to that of a god. Scrolls made by Odis at his current level can also be used to attack demigods.
However, these ramblings can only be written on nine scrolls in total. Odis estimated that he could write at most three before his potion could be completely digested.
After conducting sufficient research, Odis returned to the real world. He first laid out the paper, then modified the pen used for writing the scrolls, adding a tuft of bristles cut from a giant black spider to the tip.
Normally, Odis would prepare the appropriate spiritual materials first before writing them down.
Those few demigod-level spiritual materials, after processing, need to have some other spiritual materials added before they can be used.
However, the "ramblings" of the "true creator" cannot be prepared in advance; they can only be mixed up on the spot when writing, after other materials are prepared.
After making all the preparations, Odis sat in front of the square made from the shell of a black spider, reached out and took out the "talking" of the "True Creator". After being briefly shocked by the talking, she put the glass bottle back into the square.
Then Odis used her modified, spiritually inspired pen to reach into the glass bottle.
The black spider bristles added to the pen instantly materialized the slimy "murmurs" inside the glass bottle, turning them into real slime.
Then Odis quickly picked up his pen, dipped it in other spiritual materials, and began to write.
Upon seeing the string of characters, Odis's lips curled up slightly. The giant black spider he had hunted today had truly been a great help.
When the last character of the scroll was written, the scroll rolled up on its own and emitted a gray light.
Odis's spiritual senses indicated that the scroll's power was to emit a highly penetrating "whisper," plunging the target into extreme pain and rendering them incapable of movement within six seconds.
The 6-second time limit applies to an extraordinary being at Sequence 6. If the target is at Sequence 5, the incapacitation time is 4 seconds.
It is also effective against targets at the demigod level, but it can only affect the target, causing them to lose their ability to attack, and the effect only lasts for 1 second.
Odis lamented: "My level is still too low. Once I reach Sequence 5, I can make the same scroll and use it to deal with demigods."
However, these scrolls are already quite powerful. If he had four seconds, he could severely injure a Sequence 5.
If used at the right time, it can completely eliminate a Sequence 5.
Then Odis began writing again, this time creating a new scroll based on his previous research.
Just like the previous scroll, once the last character was written, the scroll emitted light and rolled up on its own.
Odis's spiritual perception indicated that the scroll possessed a power similar to "spiritual language," capable of directly issuing commands to the target's spirit. However, it was only below the level of a demigod and could issue commands such as "death" and "fall."
However, at the demigod level, one can only issue commands such as "slow down," "weaken," and "ignore."
As the second scroll was completed, Odysseus immediately felt a long-lost sense of shattering, and the potion was completely digested!
He breathed a sigh of relief and put the glass bottle containing the "talking" back into the "wilderness of knowledge".
Odis immediately wrote to Bernadette, informing her that all the promotion materials had been collected and the potion had been digested.
Having written this far, Odis assessed his own condition and found it quite good, so he stated in the letter that he was ready for promotion at any time.
He soon received a reply from Bernadette, telling him to be ready that evening, as she would come to pick up Odysseus at ten o'clock.
Odis couldn't help but smile faintly. He sat at his workbench, doing nothing but imagining the abilities he would gain after his promotion.
Moreover, becoming a "pirate general" is also on the agenda.
After thinking for a while, Odis recalled that the book "The Scroll: From Beginner to Expert" was not yet finished.
So he returned to the "wilderness of knowledge" and wrote down his understanding and insights about the scroll, completing the core part of the book.
Odis reorganized the book, and the first part of the book explains the significance of scrolls and some techniques for making scrolls.
The essence of this section lies in the fact that all scrolls can be made using only parchment as a writing material.
The second part is a collection of scroll examples, which includes fifty-four commonly used scrolls. If you can learn all of these scrolls, you'll be considered a beginner.
The third part is what Odis just completed: all his insights into the "Scroll," his understanding of the "Scroll Professor," and his guide to digesting the potions.
After finishing the book, Odis felt his spirit suddenly become active, and when he returned to the real world, he felt better than ever before.
Odis remarked: "Finishing this book is the best preparation for promotion."
After that, Odis didn't do anything else and went to the cockpit to stare blankly at the sea in front of him.
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
At 10 p.m. that night, the pumpkin-shaped carriage appeared in the Argo's workshop.
Odis was already prepared. He opened the carriage door and boarded the carriage, which then entered the spirit world and quickly moved through it.
Bernadette was not in the carriage. When the carriage left the spirit world, Odis saw Bernadette, who had chestnut hair, was dressed smartly, and had an air of authority.
This was in a not-too-dense forest, and Odis's spirituality probably allowed him to know that he was currently on the Sea of Mist.
"I didn't expect you to digest the potion so quickly," Bernadette said after observing Odis for a moment to make sure he had completely digested it.
"We need to advance quickly; only after becoming a demigod will we feel at ease," Odis said.
Bernadette knew very well that the "Hidden Sage" seemed very interested in Odis. She didn't say anything, but simply tossed Odis a glasses case: "I wish you success in your promotion in advance."
Odis caught the glasses case, opened it, and saw a pair of exquisite gold glasses.
His spirituality told him that these glasses could seal the "peeping eye," preventing him from seeing things he shouldn't see.
"Thank you," Odis said sincerely. "I had completely forgotten about that."
Bernadette smiled and said crisply, "Come with me."
She led the way, and Odis followed closely behind.
Bernadette asked, "How have you been lately?"
"It's alright." Odis smiled helplessly: "I know the background of the 'Deep Blue' pirate group. They are from the Fennepot Navy. We were originally going to sell the 'Ghost' to them, but the Rune Navy also wanted to get involved."
"After thinking it over, I finally decided to side with the Rune Navy."
Bernadette hummed in acknowledgment, indicating that she understood and that she did not intend to interfere with Odis's decision.
Odis added, "Today I met 'General Iceberg'."
Bernadette paused for a moment: "Edwina Edwards?"
"Yes, it's her," Odis said. "I intend to use her to contact the Church of Knowledge."
Odis did not intend to hide this from Bernadette, or rather, it was only in front of Bernadette that Odis was willing to tell her about his plans.
Bernadette continued forward: "You wish to use the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom against the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery?"
Odis smiled: "That's right, use the church against the church."
"That's one way," Bernadette said. "Just as you said, hurry up and advance. Once you become a demigod, the threat from the Church will be much smaller."
At this moment, the two left the woods and suddenly found themselves in a bright and open space. Bernadette led Odis to a meadow where the grass was waist-high and swayed gently in the breeze, looking like a green sea of wheat.
The weather is lovely tonight, with stars twinkling in the sky.
The beautiful starry sky, paired with the vast, undulating grassland, looks very poetic.
In the grassland, Odis saw three long-necked animals moving under the starry sky.
They look somewhat like deer, but their horns are more like cow horns. The most striking feature is their necks, which, although not as long as giraffes, are much longer than those of normal deer.
They are the Colorful Star-Eyed Beasts.
The ceremony for becoming an "astrologer" involves riding on the back of a colorful star-eyed beast and drinking a magic potion in the midnight sky.
Bernadette said, "There's still some time before midnight. You can prepare the potion first, and then try to tame a 'Colorful Star-Eyed Beast'."
Odis was taken aback: "They have to be tamed?"
"Otherwise?" Bernadette glanced at Odis. "Would you let a stranger ride on your neck?"
Odis found the analogy both amusing and exasperating: "Alright, I'll start by concocting the potion."
Bernadette raised her hand, and a table that looked somewhat illusory appeared in front of Odis.
He took out the materials he had prepared long ago, the first of which was the essential oil of black-veined peony that he had just refined a few days ago. It was a pure black essential oil containing some crystals.
Generally speaking, only a few drops or a dozen drops of essential oil are needed in potions, but to advance to the rank of "astrologer," one needs 50 ml of black-striped peony essential oil.
Odis had already measured everything out with a graduated cylinder before setting off, so now all he had to do was pour the materials into a glass bottle that had been prepared beforehand.
The second auxiliary material is the jet-black liquid traded from Cattleya, the sap of the Misty Black Birch Tree, which also requires 50 ml.
This juice is a potent hallucinogen and can make the drinker directionally challenged for a period of time.
The remaining two are one fruit of the Shining Star Tree and 12 grams of the liver of the Trickster Pegasus.
The former is a fruit the size of a hawthorn, with some shiny crystals on its surface; the latter is a piece of blood-red liver.
Odis took out two exquisite wooden boxes, opened one of them, and inside was a pale yellow crystal with a constant shimmering starlight.
This is the core crystal of the main material, "the shimmering starlight tree," which makes the crystal's starlight appear even brighter under the starry sky.
Upon adding one main ingredient, the potion in the glass bottle reacted, as if a pot had boiled over, and the crystals slowly melted.
The second box contained the "Pituitary Gland of the Trickster Pegasus," a small pituitary gland that shimmered with starlight, as if it contained fragments of many stars.
When the pituitary gland was placed in the glass bottle, the potion instantly emitted a layer of black mist.
After the fog dissipated, all that remained in the glass bottle was a mass of black liquid with starlight-like crystals. The crystals looked like clusters of flowing starlight, and they were very beautiful.
Odis put the cork back on the bottle and put the potion into his pocket.
An ancient stone throne "reappeared" behind Bernadette, and she plopped down on it: "You can begin now. Make sure one of the multicolored star-eyed beasts accepts you before midnight."
Odis grunted in agreement, used a "flight scroll," and then swept across the thick grass to approach the colorful star-eyed beasts.
The three colorful star-eyed beasts, which resembled deer, immediately turned and ran away in three different directions after seeing Odis approach.
Odis chased after one of them, and when he got closer, he saw clearly that the multicolored star-eyed beast had gray fur and black eyes, which had nothing to do with words like "multicolored" or "star-eyed".
However, this was not the time to worry about that. Odis seized the opportunity and jumped onto the back of the Colorful Star-Eyed Beast, but was immediately thrown off.
The colorful star-eyed beast's legs weren't very high, but its jumping ability was very strong, using inertia to throw Odis a long distance.
Fortunately, the "flying scroll" was still valid. Odis flew over again and this time grabbed the fur of the multicolored star-eyed beast. However, the fur seemed to be soaked in oil all at once, and Odis's hand slipped, and he was thrown away again.
Odis remained undeterred and pounced on the Colorful Star-Eyed Beast, only to have the beast turn its head, grab Odis's hair with its mouth, and toss its head away.
Odis stopped somewhat awkwardly in mid-air in the grass, avoiding being thrown to the ground.
He asked Bernadette, "Can you knock it out?"
As a result, Odis saw Bernadette sitting on the ancient stone throne with her legs crossed, holding a wine glass in her hand, watching them as if she were watching a performance: "No, if it is not in a sober state when midnight comes, it will be of no use."
Odis had no choice but to continue chasing the colorful star-eyed beast. After being flung away several times, Odis accidentally fell onto the grass.
He rolled a few times, and the force of the fall was dissipated.
Odis looked at the night sky, breathing heavily, and didn't want to get up for a moment.
At this moment, all he could see was the grass and the night sky.
A moment later, Bernadette appeared with a beautiful face full of concern. She floated above the grass and asked, "Are you alright?"
Odis smiled and said, "The starry sky is truly beautiful tonight."
Bernadette smiled and said, "It's almost midnight, and you still have the mood to appreciate the starry sky."
Odis sat up and stretched: "If I get promoted later, I'm going to lie down here for a bit."
Bernadette sat back down on her stone throne: "Let's finish the promotion first."
Odis stood up again, but this time he did not rush towards the Colorful Star-Eyed Beast. Instead, he took out two kinds of spiritual materials from the "Wilderness of Knowledge".
One was a powder made from the fruit of the "Shimmering Star Tree," which he dried on his body to mask his scent.
Another spiritual material is a few leaves from the "Tree of Alaman".
"Crystal of the Tree of Alaman" is one of the main materials for advancing to "Scroll Professor". When Odis was promoted to "Scroll Professor", he hunted a "Tree of Alaman" stored by Bernadette.
At that time, Odis pulled up all the leaves, and some of them were dried, crushed, and made into powder for use.
Another portion remains unprocessed, possessing the "preservation" ability of the "knowledge wilderness," appearing as if they were recently picked from the tree.
This time, Odis wasn't in a hurry to chase after the multicolored star-eyed beast. He held up the leaf and slowly walked over: "Want some? Come on over if you want some."
"This single leaf is worth 1 pound. I'll be generous today and treat you to your fill."
The colorful star-eyed beast looked at Odis, but this time it did not run away immediately.
Odis smiled and said, "I won't hurt you. I just need your help. Come, come, taste the leaves."
He slowly approached, and the colorful star-eyed beast actually stretched out its head, snatched a leaf, and then chewed on the leaf of the "Alaman Tree" like a cow.
Such spiritual beings naturally enjoy eating things rich in spiritual energy.
And the smell emanating from the person in front of him didn't seem so unpleasant anymore.
After finishing one leaf, the Colorful Star-Eyed Beast stretched out its head and snatched another leaf.
After eating three pieces, Odis reached out and touched its head, and it stopped resisting as much.
After eating eight pieces, Odis jumped onto its back, and it could barely accept it.
At this moment, Odis noticed that the color of the colorful star-eyed beast's fur had changed; it had been gray before, but now it had turned light blue.
The colorful star-eyed beast also raised its head and looked directly at the starry sky. Its eyes seemed to be assimilated by the starlight and also emitted a dazzling starlight.
As midnight approached, the colorful star-eyed beast's fur underwent even more changes, sometimes light blue, sometimes light green, and finally, the fur in different parts of the body turned into different colors, as beautiful as a rainbow.
The most significant change was to the raised neck of the Colorful Star-Eyed Beast, which appeared almost transparent, giving it a very ethereal look.
Colorful starlight appeared from her almost transparent neck, emitting a dreamlike hue that made the surrounding grass look as if it were under neon lights.
At this moment, Bernadette reminded her, "Drink the potion!"
Without hesitation, Odis opened the glass bottle containing the potion and drank the "astrologer's" potion in one gulp.