It was a strange piece of paper.
Slightly thick, like cardstock. The strip-shaped paper had markings like a ruler, with several scales ranging from 0 to 10.
“What is this?” Angela turned it over and examined it. “A measuring ruler?”
“This is a ritual compatibility gauge.” Carol explained. “The specific principle is difficult to explain—it’s related to the gods…”
He glossed over the rest of that description, but no one pursued the question at this point.
Then he continued explaining, “In any case, when you have a gauge, then when performing a ritual, you can check your ritual compatibility through the gauge after the ritual.”
“What is ritual compatibility?”
“That’s a good question.” Carol nodded. “Actually, this concept has many names, such as completion rate, accuracy rate, and so on. But compatibility is the easiest to understand—that is, how compatible the ritual you’re performing is with the history that occurred in the past.”
Everyone pondered this concept.
Finally, Brewer said, “We need to actively cater to… no, conform to what happened originally?”
“Yes.” Carol gave him an appreciative look. “For example, the [Flowing Wind] we learned before. When that breeze brushed past the leaves, from what angle and direction did it blow, with how much force, and ultimately, what created this wind we need to recreate?
“How well the ritual you’re performing matches what happened in the past determines how much the power recreated by the ritual can restore that original breeze. And ‘restoration’ is a kind of power.”
This was something easy to understand but very difficult to judge during the actual ritual process.
Carol continued, “Through the compatibility gauge, we can very intuitively see what actions result in lower compatibility, leading to ritual failure or weaker ritual power. Through this, continuous practice can improve our ritual effectiveness.”
The Revelators fell into contemplation.
At this moment, Siles suddenly asked, “If we know exactly what happened in the past, would the ritual compatibility definitely be 10?”
For example, that breeze. If they were there in person and knew exactly where that breeze came from and its force, could they guarantee absolute success without the help of a compatibility gauge?
Carol looked at Siles with slight peculiarity, probably thinking about the research department again.
He answered the question. “Theoretically, yes. But when performing more complex rituals, there are more things to consider—it’s not just recreating the breeze, but also that tree, the surrounding air, the end of that breeze.”
Siles nodded slowly. “I understand. Thank you for your explanation.”
After explaining the concept of ritual compatibility, Carol distributed potions and leaves, having them try the ritual again in different corners of the room.
Exclamations came from within the room from time to time.
“Only 5!”
“8! That’s my highest yet!”
“Last time was 3, this time is 7, I don’t really feel any difference…”
“Hahahaha 9! I actually got a 9!”
Hearing the excited or dejected voices around him, Siles lowered his eyes to look at the compatibility gauge in his hand—a light blue had filled every corner of the gauge.
10.
And every time was 10.
He even tried different postures and directions, yet that blue radiance seemed to have its own consciousness, automatically entering the leaf at a specific angle every time it left Siles’s fingertips.
Then Siles got one 10 after another.
As if fate particularly favored him.
Siles secretly took a breath, thinking about why such a result would occur.
Carol came to his side and noticed the gauge full of blue in his hand, praising him. “Congratulations! You must have practiced quite a bit, right?”
Siles was slightly taken aback, feeling a sense of guilt as if everyone was studying hard while he was cheating.
However, before he could answer, he heard someone nearby exclaim, “10! I finally got a 10!”
So Carol went over there to praise them and didn’t pay special attention to Siles’s 10.
Siles also breathed a slight sigh of relief and stopped practicing, instead lowering his eyes in thought—was this his golden finger? Or did it come with his Keeper identity?
But why could it be full compatibility every time?
He couldn’t figure out this question no matter what.
The afternoon ended amid continuous practice and questions. They all experienced the profound and mysterious nature of Revelators, and even more so the countless hardships and sweat behind that thick knowledge box.
In fact, even by the end, several people still hadn’t achieved full compatibility, such as Mrs. Fuller and Eric.
They didn’t seem to care very much. However, this issue itself meant that Revelators themselves were different, and each person’s progress and smoothness varied even more.
This made Siles feel an even more subtle mood.
After another two hours had passed, people bid farewell to each other and left.
When Siles walked out of the room, he heard a prompt from his brain: [Knowledge +1.]
Another point added?
He remembered that the last time knowledge increased by one was when he first came to the Historical Society and learned of the existence of Revelators. That had increased both his spirituality and knowledge attributes by one point each.
And now, his knowledge had increased by another point.
Was it because this lesson mentioned ritual compatibility? But hadn’t he already learned about the three elements and three dimensions from Grenfield before?
Siles thought for a moment and realized it was probably because he had only obtained these names from Grenfield. Knowing what but not why, so the knowledge attribute hadn’t changed.
As his understanding of Revelators deepened, his knowledge attribute would obviously continue to increase. It was only 47 points now.
Because he was thinking about these things, Siles unintentionally fell to the back and met up with Angela, who was also walking slowly. Angela still had a stiff smile on her face.
Siles felt somewhat helpless. He suddenly thought of a question and consulted Angela. “I need to buy a more formal outfit for teaching. Do you know of any clothing stores nearby?”
Ladies knew more about such things.
Angela also breathed a slight sigh of relief. She thought for a moment, then said, “Although formal wear is the most formal, it’s probably not suitable for the classroom. On the southwest side of Atherton Central Square, there’s a good custom suit shop. You can buy ready-made clothes there.”
Siles nodded, thanked Angela for her suggestion, then bid her farewell.
Half an hour later, Siles walked out of the clothing store carrying a bag. He had bought two suits, and his heart was bleeding.
He knew stores near Atherton Square wouldn’t be cheap, but one suit cost twenty-five Duke coins—two outfits cost him a month’s salary! Three months’ rent!
Siles paid with his eyes closed.
Okay, okay. From another perspective, these two outfits should be enough for him to wear for several years. Really.
Considering these two expensive garments and the current time, Siles chose a rental carriage. About an hour and a half later—seriously, did Lafami City have traffic jams too?—Siles returned to 13 Milford Street.
He happened to run into the Fenn family starting dinner, so at their enthusiastic invitation, Siles mooched another meal.
After dinner, Siles noticed the weather outside was nice—the rainy season had truly passed. He went out for a walk, and when passing Grenfield’s Antique Bookstore, he saw a faint light still on inside, so he walked in.
“Good evening, Gren.”
“Good evening, Siles.” Grenfield was still lazily nestled behind the counter, head down reading a book—who knew if it was another detective novel by Ms. Antonia Carmin. “Went to the Historical Society again today?”
Siles hadn’t yet thought about how to ask his question when he heard Grenfield say this, and he was immediately stunned.
He thought somewhat subtly that Grenfield knew the Historical Society’s schedule too well.
He didn’t think much more and nodded. “Yes, we learned about ritual compatibility.”
Hearing this, Grenfield looked up and said, “Anything you didn’t understand?”
Siles thought for a moment, then slowly nodded. He said, “Does compatibility necessarily require practice to improve?”
What puzzled him most was naturally, his own guaranteed perfect compatibility of 10. But if he asked directly, he’d probably be treated as a madman. So it was better to fix his image as someone with lofty research obsessions.
Sure enough, hearing this, Grenfield couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “What else?” he said irritably. “Don’t tell me you think it can be improved out of thin air? For ordinary people performing a ritual for the first time, having a compatibility of 5 or 6 is already very good!”
Siles answered cautiously, “But I want to consider all possibilities.”
This statement made Grenfield fall into an eerie silence.
After a moment, Grenfield sighed. “You really are…”
Siles remained silent.
Grenfield seemed to be talking to himself, yet also warning Siles. “Arrogant young people always try to obtain everything.” Without waiting for Siles’s answer, he continued, “This is possible.”
Siles blinked and asked, “Under what circumstances?”
“When you are a god.”
Siles froze for an instant. After a moment, he said in surprise, “When I… am a god?”
“Yes.” Grenfield put away all emotion and said very seriously, “Currently, the only known case of achieving full compatibility the first time using a ritual… is that Guardian of the Temporal Rift.”
Antinam.
That deity.
Siles suddenly held his breath, feeling waves of cold sweat breaking out on his back.
Grenfield probably noticed Siles’s pale expression, so he warned him, “Now you know how ignorant your question is, right? Really, young people, just practice step by step and don’t think about reaching the sky in one step.
“Although I know you’re a scholar who likes to get to the bottom of things, this kind of matter…”
He shook his head.
After a moment, Siles said as if nothing had happened, “I understand what you mean. It’s just that I thought of what you said before about the Historical Society researching Revelator souls, so I wanted to know if it’s possible that some Revelators’ souls are naturally… compatible with certain rituals.”
Grenfield looked at Siles with some surprise, then said, “It’s not impossible, but not many people research this topic. Honestly, the doors of the Historical Society’s research department are open to you.”
Siles: “…”
The academic tasks at Lafami University were enough for him to handle.
Siles chatted with Grenfield for a few more sentences on this topic, then mentioned he would be moving away tomorrow. He added, “If there’s a chance, I’ll come visit you.”
Grenfield nodded casually. He added, “Every Wednesday morning I’ll be at the Historical Society.”
Siles was slightly stunned, then smiled and said, “Alright. Where should I see you then?”
Grenfield coughed and said with a straight face, “Room 177.”
Siles noted it down. He added, “Last time, that detective novel by Ms. Carmin you gave me—I thought the reading experience was very good.”
The bearded middle-aged man, hearing Siles praise his favorite author, immediately became animated, repeatedly praising Siles’s good taste. He then gave Siles another book by Carmin, insisting he take it home to read.
Siles had no choice but to accept it.
He left Grenfield’s bookstore and was about to walk back when he suddenly thought of something and walked toward Logan Market, where he purchased a fountain pen at a shop.
In this world without computers or phones, if he wanted to write a novel, he’d have to write it all by hand. Using a quill pen for this would be too torturous for his hand.
Siles noticed that fountain pens in this world already had convenient self-inking technology, but the price was slightly expensive—a simple style required 10 Duke coins.
However, he still selected a simple black fountain pen.
Seriously, hadn’t he already spent so much money on suits today? What was wrong with spending a little more money to buy a fountain pen? He was a stranger from Earth’s online shopping era who had learned the concept of bundling purchases!
Siles put this expensive fountain pen in his pocket and walked back expressionlessly.
When arriving at the second floor of 13 Milford Street, he once again encountered that mysterious folklorist, Alfonso Carel.
