Chapter 351 The Truth
"Stop it!" The young man with long ears and tail stood on the tree and shouted condescendingly.
The young man holding the "oar" deflected the traveler's sword, then swung the long-handled weapon in his hand and knocked to the ground the two Cheaters who were trying to launch a sneak attack.
"It's Tinari and Seno! They're here to help us!" Paimon said happily to Sora.
null:
1. “That’s great!”
2. "...I hope so (os: I don't know which side they are on yet)."]
"Lord Seno?!"
"Tinari-sensei?!"
Radu and Elias were both stunned when they saw the person coming. They immediately ordered, "Xiao Shiba, make them stop!"
Upon hearing this, the fragrance emitted by the huge lightning tree instantly became inaudible. The deceptive flowers that were so murderous just now suddenly became quiet, standing in place with round eyes open, swaying rhythmically, looking unusually well-behaved.
Seeing this, the Traveler and Senor put away their weapons.
"Aren't you patrolling this area? How did you make such a big noise?" Tinari held the bow handle with one hand and supported his forehead with the other, "You even fought with the travelers..."
"We were patrolling this area, and Xiao Shiba also discovered Fatui soldiers." Radu explained.
"They damaged the teacher's precious experimental materials, and we want to teach them a lesson." Elias continued.
Then, he turned to look at Seno: "Lord Seno, I want to report the traveler for violating discipline and infringing on private property. This crime is unforgivable!"
"Ah?! What? Don't spit blood on me! Aren't they all fine?" Paimon stomped his feet angrily, "Seno, don't listen to them! The two of them suddenly released the Deceiving Flowers to attack the Traveler, and they even wanted to capture the Traveler and force him to work in the laboratory for a month!"
"The teacher spent four years training the ATPX series, and we just ask you to work for one month. I think this is a completely reasonable request," said Elias.
Radu nodded in agreement.
Tinari rolled his eyes: He is indeed a student trained by Haroldt, he has already begun to show the style of his teacher.
"Both sides, calm down and talk in detail." Seno stuck the "paddle" in his hand into the ground and crossed his arms.
Elias, Radu, and the traveler each described what happened at the time, and their testimonies were basically consistent.
Seno nodded: "I understand. Then, the traveler will return the 'Pretender' first."
Sora: "...Okay."
[Mission: Return all captured 'pretenders' (6/6) (Completed)]
Sino: "Very good, since the traveler has returned all the experimental subjects, he has not caused irreversible damage to the flower, and his behavior is not malicious. I personally think that the punishment of one month of labor is too heavy. How about reducing it to one week?"
Elias wanted to say something, but Radu grabbed his sleeve and shook his head at him.
Radu: "It's a fair judgment. Thank you, Lord Senor."
Sora was a little reluctant: "...Thank you, but not now."
Paimon chimed in, "We have to go find the Little Lucky Grass King now. We have something very important to ask!"
Seno: "I see. Then I will guarantee you that you will come back here within a month and assist Harold and his students in their experiments for a week."
null:
【1. "Can you contact Harold?"
2. “…it depends on the attitude of the Faith Council.”】
"Traveler, I want to apologize to you about this." Tinari took a step forward, sighed, and said, "During the day, I didn't trust you, so I concealed part of the truth.
However, through observation, I think you are a trustworthy person, and I will tell you everything I know, including the information about 'Spiritual Fragrance' and Harold."
Sora said seriously, "Please speak."
Tinari: "In fact, what you saw after you fell into a coma was not an illusion, but the World Tree."
Paimon asked curiously: "World Tree? What kind of tree is that?"
Tinari explained: "The World Tree is the history of this continent. Everything that has happened here is recorded by it.
The Great Mercy Tree King was once the guardian of the World Tree. 'Spiritual Phenol Incense' is made from plants that are closely related to the Great Mercy Tree King, so in addition to allowing scholars to quickly relax and enter a meditative state, it can also build a bridge between human consciousness and the World Tree.
But this is also very dangerous. If a person's consciousness comes into direct contact with the World Tree without any protection, it may cause the person to lose his mind or even go crazy."
Paimon exclaimed: "Ah! How terrible! Why would those scholars go crazy and use 'Spiritual Fragrance'?!"
"Scholars' thirst for knowledge is endless," Tinari smiled, "In order to pursue knowledge, they are willing to pay the corresponding price -"
"But the House of Lords took advantage of this." Seno frowned.
Kong suddenly realized something and immediately thought of the crazy scholar in Aru Village: "The Church of the Lords needs these scholars who have come into contact with the World Tree."
"Traveler, you can actually think of this," Tinari's eyes flashed with praise, "This is also our inference. According to the decree, not all knowledge should be kept secret. Curiosity may destroy a city, so the sages formulated the 'Six Deadly Sins of the Decree' early on.
However, the Ministry of Education did not block the raw material formula of "Spiritual Phenol Fragrance", which was equivalent to tacitly allowing scholars to contact the World Tree, but the Ministry of Education did not assign anyone to control it.
There is not even the superficial work of sending out applications and approving them based on the kind of knowledge that scholars are seeking, which is very contradictory in itself.”
Sora: "So, the Order of the Lords is intentionally 'creating' crazy scholars?"
Seno closed his eyes and did not answer directly, but said: "...In this situation, it is foreseeable that the practicing scholar will go crazy."
Sora: "But why would they do this?"
Seno: “These scholars came into contact with the World Tree, and it seems that the knowledge of the gods was implanted in their bodies. That is what the Order wants.
They went crazy and were deprived of their qualifications to become scholars and even citizens of Xumi City. They went from being respected scholars to being ignored lunatics and exiled to Aru Village, where no one cared about their fate.
"How pitiful..." Paimon looked at Sora with some sadness, "They just want to learn knowledge."
Sora nodded in agreement, "The Order took advantage of their thirst for knowledge."
Seno: "The Order Institute did much more than that. I found an abandoned hospital near Aru Village. The Order Institute secretly brought those crazy scholars from Aru Village there to extract knowledge from their brains."
Paimon couldn't help but ask, "Extracting knowledge?! Is it possible to do something like this?"
Sino: "It can be done. The House of the Lords has long mastered the method of extracting knowledge and storing it in bottles. The stored knowledge is called canned knowledge.
Those who possess canned knowledge can fully master the skills stored in it by absorbing it. "
"Wow, this is amazing!" Paimeng's eyes lit up.
Tinari glanced at Senor and warned him, "But there will be great risks. For example, you can't be sure whether the knowledge inside is what you want.
Moreover, there is no guarantee that no one has tampered with it, deliberately entering wrong knowledge or contaminated knowledge. Relying entirely on canned knowledge will also stifle the creativity and desire for exploration of scholars, so the House of Religious Orders has long since banned the circulation of "canned knowledge."
"...So that's how it is. This thing is indeed very dangerous." Paimon nodded. Although she agreed with Tinari's words, she still felt a little regretful.
null:
[1. "The House of the Lords is using 'mad scholars' to create special canned knowledge?"
2. “Why does the House of Worship go to all this trouble?”]