The "Silver Moon Project"... "Lion" Leon traveled thousands of miles from the southern continent to Feysac to deliver Roselle's words to me: "The activation incantation of the 'Moon Card' is 'Aetna,'" which I remember is also part of the so-called "Silver Moon Project"...
What exactly is this project? Ebner looked at the entry that listed only a "project name" with no actual content and couldn't help but silently complain:
"This so-called Silver Moon Project might've just been an 'empty folder' Rhine created, and only later did all the other transmigrators slowly add to it until it finally took shape with Roselle.
Feels like an Elder Scrolls VI moment..."
Lacking more information, Ebner could only move past this speculation and begin reviewing the later experimental logs and secret arts.
Most of the "rituals" and "secret arts" were too high-level, and without the corresponding spiritual or starry sky materials, they couldn't be reproduced—useless to the current Ebner.
For instance, the "Living Dissection Technique" was an application combining "Creation" and "Necromancy" that could remotely restructure a target's body and dissect its soul. It was a secret art made purely for experimentation… but unfortunately, it involved authority and couldn't be learned.
Another example was the "Black Domain Technique," a secret art capable of rendering its user immune to most extraordinary abilities—except those granted by authorities or physical attacks. Ebner was quite envious of it, but it required the carapace of a starry sky monster as a "material," so all he could do was look at it longingly...
However, there were some "secret arts" and "magical rituals" that Ebner could now barely manage to use.
Take "Enchant Humans," for example—this secret art caused humans or human-like creatures to develop favorable feelings toward the caster. With his accumulated strength, he could just about manage to perform it.
The technique consisted of two parts: one, inducing the target's body to produce the corresponding hormones—this step could be accomplished by simulating the "Potion Professor" ability; and two, influencing the target's subconscious—this belonged to the domain of the "Spectator."
Combining the two parts formed the foundation of "Enchant Humans."
Although it looked like something that could be done with just "Potion Professor" or "Dreamwalker," its advantage lay in how subtle and natural it was. It was difficult for anyone below the level of an angel to detect—making it a very practical secret art.
"To me, 'Enchant Humans' is like the base-level version of the 'Goddess of Beauty'... so its upper limit is actually quite high."
Thinking and carefully taking notes, Ebner turned to the other "rituals" and "secret arts" he now had a chance of learning.
"Create Undead Creatures"... This was probably the original version of the "Bone Dragon Creation Technique" recorded later in Viscount's Book of Necromancy, right? As expected, the records said its initial model was a special corpse "created" by Rhine... Don't tell me he shaped it from the body of some predecessor transmigrator?
A transmigrator before Rhine... the "God of Fortune," maybe?
The ritual magic "Seal Activation" involved performing a ceremony to pray to an unknown entity, offering a sacrifice, and granting a chosen sealed item the characteristics of being "alive."
The requirements for this ritual magic weren't too high. For example, a Sequence 7 "Knowledge Keeper" stage "Reader" could probably manage it… but the danger came from the uncertainty of which unknown entity might respond, the varied sacrificial requirements, and the uncontrollable personality and intelligence of the revived sealed item...
"In short, too many variables... Why would Rhine develop such a ritual magic?
Unknown... Could this be his way of probing the 'Unknown Lands'?"
While pondering this, Ebner also recorded the knowledge into his "learning space."
Next, he studied several secret arts and magical techniques one by one, including "Stinky Cloud Technique," "Cherished Betrayal Technique," and "Eternal Stasis." After about twenty minutes, Ebner finally closed Roselle's translated copy and returned it to Lilith.
He had already memorized all of its contents. Even those he couldn't yet learn had been cataloged. There was no point in holding onto the book any longer—especially since it wasn't the original.
Lilith took the translation, gave a casual wave, and made it disappear, then smiled and said:
"Any questions?"
Ebner hesitated, then nodded and asked, "Do you know the exact location of the island where Duke Rhine conducted experiments with the Black Emperor and the Underworld Emperor?"
He wanted to go see it for himself—maybe he could even find some items that had come from the stars.
"On an island where the Polar Sea meets the Misty Sea… If it's you, you should be able to find it." Lilith didn't say more and only gave a rough range.
But that was enough for Ebner. With this kind of preliminary intelligence, his prophecy would likely become more accurate.
"After I'm done with the Intis matter and head south to West Balam for the meeting, I can take a detour to search for that island."
With a plan forming in his heart, Ebner was just about to bid Lilith farewell when he heard her speak in a voice that was intoxicating, "I suggest you open that gear-bound book here. After all, with me watching, I can conceal anything that might cause too much of a commotion."
A goddess of beauty naturally had an extraordinarily "beautiful" voice. If not for the reinforcement of "Mechanical Mind" and "Psychological Suggestion," Ebner was certain he wouldn't have wanted to leave this place.
This was far more potent than the singing of mermaids… Hmm, maybe the mermaid species was created by some "Goddess of Beauty" and granted a portion of divine authority…
If I guessed right, who could it be?
Lilith? Auernia? It couldn't possibly be the Evernight Goddess holding the uniqueness of the "Moon," could it?
As his thoughts wandered, Ebner obediently retrieved the gear-bound book again and held it in his hands—divine advice was not to be ignored.
Now that it had lost its veil of unknown aura, the gear-bound book's mechanical lock structure was still complex, but before the cheat-like "Pure White Eye," it didn't pose much of a challenge to Ebner.
In just three minutes, he had fully unlocked it.
As a series of gear-turning sounds echoed, the specially-made book slowly opened, projecting beams of light from its pages that formed a massive holographic image.
In an instant, a giant floating city's illusion filled the entire basement, giving Ebner quite a shock.
At that moment, Lilith tapped the wall with her finger, and the basement space seemed to expand, becoming spacious in an instant, allowing Ebner to fully view the projected city.
It was an inverted mountain peak suspended mid-air, with its flat top surface covered in all kinds of buildings—shops, theaters, schools, and luxurious residences…
And at the exact center of all these buildings, also the geometric center of the mountain's cross-section, stood a tall silver-white tower.
The top of the tower drew in power from the surrounding darkness and extended a "barrier" that shielded the entire floating city.
Ebner immediately recognized that the barrier extending from the tower's top was the secret technique "Evans's Hidden Barrier," which he had learned in "Fallen Morning Star."
The tower in the image, by relying on a higher level of authority and channeling divine power from the darkness, had amplified this secret technique to an unknown degree—far stronger than when he used it himself. So much so that the countless monsters hidden in the dark environment around the floating city, whether weak or powerful, hadn't discovered the city's existence.
"Also, the floating power of this city seems to rely on the residual divine power of the 'Lord of Storms' scattered all across the Abandoned Land!
"This predecessor of a transmigrator really made the absolute most of every available resource...
Truly a miracle of civilization!
Too bad the floating city is so massive—there's no way to examine its finer details from this projection, so I still don't know how it actually utilizes the 'storm' divine power…
Surely it doesn't just blare 'Leodero' through giant loudspeakers and use the lightning and wind that follow as a power source?
Heh, if that were the case, would the steam-powered ignition systems inside this floating city need to chant 'Aucuses' when starting up?
(End of chapter)