[Reaching for the Moon (Far Caress)]
[Source: Abyssal Relic (Crafted by Fran Herschel)]
[Effect: Releases a spiderweb-like, tentacle-shaped resilient biomaterial with moderate controllability. After being processed and enhanced by a certain doctor, this relic has gained reusability, allowing it to restore itself to its initial state after deployment.]
[Remark: "Absolutely... fantastic!"]
——
Fran gazed with satisfaction at her pale wrist, adorned with a delicate woven bracelet.
The jet-black, tendril-like material was intricately intertwined, resembling an ordinary nylon accessory from a distance—except for the fact that it moved. Everything else seemed perfectly normal.
Besides acquiring an Abyssal Relic, this month's medical visit also brought Fran an improvement in her analytical skills.
After all, opportunities to dissect a living Crimson Chalice High Priest were rare... If the circumstances hadn't been clearly unsuitable at the time, she might have even considered trying to reassemble what she had peeled off from Sains.
With just a bit of Hemomancer craftsmanship, she could have obtained a High Priest-level living specimen.
Oh, what a shame.
At this moment, Fran's analytical proficiency in anatomy increased by 0.5%, reaching 79.5%. Her clinical psychology improved by 1%, hitting 20%. Meanwhile, her knowledge in Abyssal Applications rose by 2%, entirely thanks to the relic's crafting.
She felt relatively satisfied with these figures.
After all, her anatomy proficiency was nearing the critical threshold of 80%; the closer the value got to the peak, the harder it became to improve. Even the forbidden knowledge of the Crimson Chalice High Priest's anatomy could only provide her with a 0.5 increase.
But that was fine; any progress was a gain.
The accumulation of skills never happens overnight, and Fran had plenty of time. She was always calm about this.
"Speaking of which, it seems that the 'secret arts' of various sects undergo certain degrees of replacement and iteration. The spell [Overrun Invasion] used to require chanting a prayer, but now it can be directly solidified on a gun... Truly a victory for technology."
At this moment, Fran was reclining on the sofa in the waiting room of the Fog Street Clinic in a rather ungraceful manner, her body resting against a plush cushion.
Her long legs were draped over the coffee table, occasionally swaying gently, the thick-soled leather shoes tapping lightly on the surface with a rhythmic sound.
"The time back then was too short; I only managed to steal a little bit of the ritual data from Professor Terrence's mind... Well, I suppose I should compare it with the Enlightenment Scriptures of the White Cup. It's also a good opportunity to see the developments of the White Cup over the years."
Although Fran had claimed not to have stolen any information from Terrence's mind... well, since she was already there, it felt odd not to peek at something.
So, as a courtesy, she glanced at some of the White Cup's secrets.
Fran lazily stretched her waist, extending her abdominal and arm muscles to their limit before gradually relaxing them.
Though this individual would enter a lazy, energy-saving mode when there were no patients or house calls, it didn't mean she was entirely idle. At the very least, she maintained a keen interest in reading various profound or obscure texts.
"Reaching for the Moon."
Maintaining her current posture, Fran reached out toward the tall bookshelf. The bracelet on her wrist shot out, and jet-black tendrils struck the entire shelf, spreading out like a spiderweb.
Soon, one of the tendrils found the target book, firmly adhered to it, and yanked it back.
In an instant, the web-like tendrils brought the hefty Enlightenment Scriptures back to Fran's hand, reverting to a delicate, slender bracelet.
"The precision is a bit off, given its moderate controllability... but it's still much better than the 'original,' which required manual retrieval and reloading after deployment."
Fran caressed the dark, writhing bracelet on her wrist, pondering new improvements.
She slightly narrowed her eyes, then set aside these thoughts, redirecting her attention to the Enlightenment Scriptures of the White Cup sect.
——
The Crimson Chalice's Skin Scriptures consist of four volumes, the Ash Scriptures of the Secret Hunters have three, the Twin Scriptures of the Lantern Moth have two, while the White Cup's Enlightenment Scriptures... only have one.
Its title is Essentialism.
The name alone gives off an unfriendly vibe, and the reality is no different. Its content spans mysticism, philosophy, and mathematics...
Fran spent an extensive amount of time on this book, pouring in countless efforts... to the point where she even started losing hair in the first few days after acquiring it.
So much so that when she later encountered the "Enlightenment Scriptures" published by the White Cup sect, she couldn't help but frown in suspicion.
Why were the theories in this thing so shallow? They were completely different from what she had read before. Had the White Cup sect's book been pirated?
After comparison, she noticed that the copy of Essentialism she had obtained as "payment" was entirely handwritten, with numerous edits, scribbles, and revisions that negated earlier theories... It seemed to be the original manuscript.
The original manuscript was compiled by an unknown individual named Chenes, with no surname provided, making it impossible to determine his full name.
Fran greatly admired his talent. If there were a group of people in the world who could be called "geniuses," Chenes would undoubtedly hold a place among them.
However, it was strange. The person who compiled the scriptures for the White Cup sect was neither a former president of the Central Academy nor a renowned sage. No trace of his existence could be found in any records.
Was it academic plagiarism, or... some other unspeakable reason?
The first volume of Essentialism briefly introduces the mystical principles of the various sects' secret arts and rituals, as well as their classification criteria.
Rituals with only auxiliary effects, regardless of scale, are classified as "Category Three," as they lack specific lethality or harmfulness.
Rituals that possess harmfulness and require a certain level of research expertise fall into "Category Two," such as the Crimson Chalice sect's Summoning the Bloodline ritual arranged at the Hungry Club.
The classification of "Category One" rituals is extremely straightforward: any ritual that involves divine taboos is automatically placed in this category.
Secret arts follow the same classification as rituals, but within each category, they are further divided into upper and lower tiers to distinguish between those of the same type but with vastly different levels of power.
"...Ah, it's already daylight? Has it been a full day?"
Fran set aside the Enlightenment Scriptures that had been covering her face, rubbing her amber-colored eyes drowsily, her pale, frost-like lashes slightly tangled together.
She had spent several days and nights without sleep to create an abyssal relic, and the book she had chosen to read was the profoundly deep Enlightenment Scriptures... so much so that she had fallen into a baby-like sleep halfway through.
"To think I slept until noon—what a sin..."
Fran took out the Pendulum Heart Clock from her pocket, using it like an ordinary pocket watch to check the time.
Her biological clock was usually well-adjusted, but she also enjoyed the occasional indulgence.
Sleeping until noon had two benefits for her: first, she could skip making one meal, and second, she could skip eating one meal...
Fran sat up from the sofa and slotted the book back into the tall wooden bookshelf.
She slowly walked to the door, hanging the "Open for Business" sign for her clinic, then gazed absentmindedly at the warm sunlight piercing through the thin mist on the street.
"The weather is nice; winter is officially coming to an end."
"Speaking of which, the Central Museum in Norlington is preparing for its spring exhibition. Since the April house calls are already done, why not make a trip there..."