Steam Age: I Fight Against Divine Authority with Otherworldly Tales

Chapter 76 The Ceremony Begins

William Miller's "haunted" house is the perfect place for a ceremony!

As for the excuse, it was very easy to find. In order to prevent the re-emergence of demons, it was perfectly reasonable for Suren, as a deathbird, to set up a sealing array.

With that thought in mind, Suren didn't linger and pushed open the door to her house.

However, he did not go directly to William Miller, but instead went to the "Mist Exchange" first, mainly to purchase the materials needed for the ceremony.

Suren had already prepared all the materials needed for the advancement itself, but the ink needed to draw the magic circle also needed to be prepared in advance. It was not ordinary ink, but ink made from a special extraordinary material. Its main function was to increase the stability of the magic circle and save the "Source Knowledge" and some materials consumed in the ritual.

In addition, Suren also needs to prepare some of the extraordinary materials required for the Soul Contract Ritual and the Resonance Ritual in advance.

These are all significant expenses, but fortunately, Suren currently has sufficient funds, at least £1930.16, which is certainly enough for the time being.

After purchasing two bottles of special ink and three sets of materials needed for future rituals at the "Mist Exchange," Suren headed to William Miller's clinic.

A moment later, Suren pushed open the clinic door. Perhaps because it was still early, there were no other patients inside. William Miller was dozing behind his desk. Suren walked over to the desk and gently tapped it.

William looked up abruptly, and upon recognizing the person as Suren, exclaimed with some delight, "Lord Deathbird!"

Looking at William's dark circles, Suren immediately guessed the reason: he was probably too timid and had spent the night at the clinic.

However, you can't blame him for that; what Suren said last time probably scared him quite a bit.

Suren found it somewhat amusing, but put on a serious face and said in a somewhat mystical tone, "Mr. Miller, after some thought, as the Church's harbinger of death, I have a responsibility to ensure that evil spirits do not return."

Suren tried her best to appear righteous and looked at William: "I need your cooperation now. Take me to that 'haunted house' again. I will hold a sealing ceremony there."

William stared blankly at Suren, feeling that the Deathbird before him was incredibly solemn, like a true clergyman bearing a mission.

"Thank you! Lord Deathbird!" William's voice trembled, and he was so moved that he almost cried.

Suren looked at the other person's appearance, suppressed the laughter in her heart, and forced herself to maintain her posture.

The two soon arrived at the stairwell of the basement in William's "haunted house." Suren didn't say much and went into the basement, while William waited at the stairwell.

By the dim light of the gas lamp, Suren discovered that the white frost inside the house had disappeared, and there wasn't even a trace of water left on the floor.

Suren wasted no more time. He locked the door, moved the extra clutter in the room to a corner, and then began to draw a magic circle.

Lacking tools, Suren could only lie on the ground and use his fingers to dip into the ink to draw, looking somewhat disheveled. Fortunately, the special ink was quite viscous, leaving clear marks on the floor.

Suren needs to draw a magic circle with a diameter of two meters, which is no small task.

He had considered drawing a smaller magic circle, but the purpose of the magic circle was to communicate with the special existence behind the "secret consciousness," and this special ink was the medium for communication. The amount of medium required for the advancement ceremony was relatively large, so naturally a larger magic circle had to be drawn.

According to Suren's understanding and summary, a regular ritual consists of three elements: a magic circle, incantations, and the materials required for the ritual.

The function of the magic circle is actually a bridge to communicate with the so-called gods, which is equivalent to a tool, while the incantation is an instruction to anchor the function of the ritual. As for the materials needed for advancement or spellcasting, they are like fuel for the ritual.

As for the pattern of the magic circle, according to that book, the same pattern can be used for all rituals. So theoretically, no matter what kind of superhuman you are, you can use the "equivalent exchange" magic circle to perform rituals.

However, doing so would result in a particularly high cost for the ritual.

The ideal approach is to draw a set of special magic circles based on the symbolic representation of one's own abilities. This is the method that Suren is using. He plans to draw a magic circle pattern that is unique to "Secret Knowledge".

Fortunately, the symbol of "Secret Knowledge" is relatively simple, and Suren completed the drawing in just over half an hour.

If it's a symbol like the "God of Life," it would probably take an afternoon to figure it out.

After finishing the drawing, Suren wiped the sweat from his brow and then took out the "Dominion Demon Heart Seal", "Nymph Teardrop Orchid" and "Azure Crystal".

Next, we need to recite the incantation to make these materials into "Source of Knowledge Essence".

As for the composition of the incantation, Suren, using the notebook and his own summaries, broke it down into four parts:

Part 1: Declare the person you are communicating with, such as a certain deity or a certain celestial being.

Part Two: Anchor yourself to the specific competence range of the person you are communicating with, such as the "God of Balance" who tends to be balanced and equivalent.

Part Three: State your understanding of the rules in order to establish a relatively secure connection.

Part Four: Propose clear and specific instructions.

Thinking of this, Suren smiled self-deprecatingly. He had made the incantation sound like some kind of program command, which made it seem less like a ritual.

Shaking off his chaotic thoughts, Suren composed himself and recited the incantation he had prepared beforehand, word by word:

"Based on 'secret knowledge'—"

"It wields the power of secrecy, spying, keeping secrets, and recording."

"I will uphold the principle of secrecy for the rest of my life."

"With this ritual, I will forge what I hold in my hands into the 'Origin Essence' for advancing to the 'Awakener' realm!"

These incantations are extremely simple, so simple that they really resemble a command, which was intentional on Suren's part.

He was more inclined to believe that the ritual was directed at some kind of automatically responding entity than a deity. If his incantation worked, it meant his guess was likely correct.

As Suren uttered his last word, the magic circle in the room lit up. Unlike the two rituals Suren had witnessed before, this time the magic circle emitted a deep purple light.

At the edge of the magic circle, tentacles made of shadows could be vaguely seen, undulating rhythmically. Seeing the tentacles, Suren felt a pang of unease and couldn't help but feel worried.

Fortunately, the tentacles only danced around the edge of the magic circle and did not make any further moves.

Just then, the three items in Suren's hand floated up into the air, and purple light from the magic circle burst forth, enveloping the three items.

At the same time, Suren seemed to vaguely hear illusory whispers. The voices were elusive, sometimes appearing in the distance, sometimes echoing directly in his mind, making him somewhat irritated.

The three items in the air also began to change at this moment. They were as if they were being shattered and reconstructed by an invisible hand, mixing together in the air to form a mass of pale blue, translucent liquid. Suren took out an empty glass bottle that he had prepared beforehand, and drew an arc in the air with his right hand. The liquid seemed to have a life of its own and automatically entered the bottle.

Suren was taken aback for a moment, then muttered to herself, "It's quite convenient."

The light from the magic circle gradually faded, and soon the room returned to its dim state.

The success of this ceremony means that Suren's approach to constructing the ceremony was correct, which gave him great confidence.

Suren held the "Source Knowledge Condensation" in his right hand. With a flash of light from the ring, a bottle of scarlet potion—the "Source Knowledge Structure Stabilizer"—appeared in his left hand.

Suren took a deep breath. The next step was advancement. Whether she could become an "Awakener" depended on this step!