After leaving "Foundation" with a sum of startup capital, Snow left the East District. Professional matters should be handled by professionals; he wasn't skilled at managing a gang, nor was it convenient for him to do so.
Next, he found two more young men with decent physical condition in the Dock District and the Factory District to serve as его spokesmen. He bestowed upon them the code names "Victory" and "Honor",they were from the working class, after all,and, just as he had with Mr. Foundation, he taught them step-by-step how to complete the ritual for requesting Bestowal.
However, what Snow imparted to these three through the Bestowal ritual wasn't just miscellaneous basic knowledge like Ancient Hermes, sanctified silver daggers, and sacrificial rituals. He also gave them actual supernatural power.
Yes, supernatural power.
Drawing from fragments of knowledge from his previous life, Snow utilized the ritual knowledge from his "Secrets Supplicant" days, his exploration of the "A White Horse is Not a Horse" ability, and his own imagination to devise a simplified version of a "Bestowal Ordination" ritual.
Specifically, by responding to the prayers of believers, he would bestow his own spirituality and a portion of his supernatural power upon the target, allowing them to use Beyonder abilities just like a proper Beyonder.
Of course, this thing Snow had dreamed up on a whim was clearly not as perfected as the system that had developed for countless years on the Western Continent. He simply emulated the method of crafting and charging charms, temporarily storing his own spirituality within the body of the prayer.
The believer effectively used Snow's spirituality for battle. Once it was depleted, they would have to pray again. Furthermore, because the human body's capacity for storing spirituality was limited, it would begin to dissipate after more than two days. Thus, they essentially had to pray every day to request Bestowal once more, much like a preparation system for spell slots.
As their spirit bodies continuously endured the scouring of spirituality, their capacity to hold it would increase, and the types of Beyonder abilities they could obtain would likewise grow.
This system was as Snow had described: there was almost no risk of losing control, no descent into madness, and no need to worry about Beyonder materials or potion formulas. The only two things required were meditation and prayer.
Prayer was for obtaining the power bestowed by the "God," while meditation was for expanding one's own capacity to hold more "divine power."
Though it lacked the ability to ascend to the status of a god like the standard pathways, to these people at the bottom of society, telling them about becoming a god was far less effective than telling them they'd have food to eat.
As for whether these commoners at the bottom would start behaving recklessly once they obtained power, Snow wasn't worried in the slightest. What was bestowed upon them was not just Beyonder abilities and his spirituality, but also the proselytizing of his "Whisper" skill. Under Snow's indoctrination of his "Universal Nature" philosophy,the idea of neither taking nor being taken from,they would only become increasingly aligned with a neutral stance.
One could say with absolute responsibility that as long as Snow didn't go mad, there would never be an anti-social element within his "Universal Nature" organization who would destroy the world for their own selfish desires.
...
On the other side, after lingering for a long time outside Daffodil Street, Klein ultimately didn't enter that familiar street. With a lingering look at the still-lit house at Number 2 Daffodil Street, he turned toward Tingen Railway Station.
Fortunately, whether it was the compensation payment from Miss Justice or the gold pounds remaining after purchasing potion materials, everything had been deposited into a Backlund bank. Otherwise, at this moment, he would have to consider whether to sell his formal suit in exchange for a train ticket to Backlund.
'Taking part in the Tarot Club while on the train is too dangerous. I'd better buy a ticket for the night train.' Arriving at the Tingen Railway Station and looking at the massive clock, Klein ultimately didn't skip today's Tarot Club meeting. After all, the Tarot Club was now his only Beyonder channel. He ordered a thirteen-pence lunch at a cafe near the station and then found a cheap convenience hotel to wait for three o'clock in the afternoon.
...
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool! Good afternoon, Mr. Devil! Good afternoon, Mr. Hanged Man! Good afternoon, Mr. Sun!"
The usual cheerful voice rang out in his ears, and Snow, who had been busy all morning, felt his mood improve significantly.
He smiled and nodded to Justice, then greeted everyone in turn using his preset titles.
After some pleasantries, Mr. Fool noticed that Miss Justice seemed to have something to say and nodded to indicate she could begin.
"Respected Mr. Fool, has your blessed one received the 350 gold pounds in compensation?" Miss Justice suppressed the urge to immediately speak of Qilangos and asked a word of concern for her leader's blessed one.
Hearing this, Mr. Fool chuckles low. "I haven't paid attention to the matter, but since my blessed one hasn't requested further assistance, he should have received it."
Though the words were such, Snow suspected that Mr. Fool likely couldn't wait to check his balance at the bank every single day.
Speaking of which, Mr. A has returned. He wondered if Ince Zangwill had succeeded.
'If Mr. Fool didn't actually die, I wonder if the Goddess will find some excuse to transfer him to Backlund.' Snow thought to himself, deciding it was best for him not to interfere. Regarding the Lord of the Mysteries, he believed the Goddess was far more anxious than he was. He'd better focus on how to grow his "Universal Nature" organization to provide sufficient anchors for himself.
"That's wonderful!" Miss Justice clearly wouldn't understand exactly how many times her leader had counted those lovely small coins. She turned her head toward the opposite side. "Mr. Hanged Man, there's progress regarding Qilangos."
Upon hearing this news, The Hanged Man immediately straightened up, casting aside his usual steady demeanor, and asked with both joy and tension, "Where is he?"
'Just like someone who's lost their head in love!' Snow thought silently. He listened as Miss Justice slowly recounted the news relayed to her by Fors. Only after Mr. Fool permitted everyone to recite his honorable name in critical moments did The Hanged Man very subserviently share the news that he was about to obtain a batch of Roselle's diaries.
Seeing that no one else could produce a diary, Snow spoke:
"Respected Mr. Fool, I have also memorized a page of Roselle's diary this time."
'Mr. Devil can provide a page every time, and the handwriting looks almost identical. Does he truly have a large collection? Yet he can only memorize one page at a time. Does his potion not improve memory?' Audrey watched as Mr. Devil manifested the notebook's contents and had no lack of mischievous guesses. Recalling Mr. Devil's praise for her Spectator pathway, she couldn't help but want to stifle a laugh.
However, Klein, who could read Chinese, didn't doubt Snow's memory. He knew very well that what Snow submitted were likely the original drafts of the transmigrator, and thus contained more words and more complex content. For someone who didn't understand Hanzi, trying to memorize dense square characters was clearly more difficult than memorizing those loose scrawls that merged into the Loen writing habit.
Though reading it, this kind of writing truly was more comfortable!
Klein picked up the goatskin parchment handed over by Mr. Devil, and that sense of familiarity vanished instantly,
"Spent the whole night working as a mason. I feel like my back is going to break! How can a Bizarro Sorcerer's constitution be so strong?"
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika Kagura]
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A/N: Bestowal Ordination (授箓) - Snow's primitive adaptation of the Western Continent's power system.
A/N: Universal Nature (全性 - Quanxing) - Snow's secret organization. The name refers to the philosophy of "preserving one's nature," implying a state of being true to oneself without external interference.
T/N: "Victory" (胜利) and "Honor" (荣耀) - Snow's new recruits' code names, continuing the Sephirah theme (Netzach and Hod).
T/N: "Bizarro Sorcerer" (诡法师) - Sequence 4 of the Seer pathway. Famous for its marionette abilities.
T/N: "Sanctified Silver Dagger" (圣化银匕) - A basic tool for rituals in many Beyonder pathways.