novelonline Chapter 4202 The Domain of Cataclysmic Knowledge
Chapter 4202 The Domain of Cataclysmic Knowledge
Chapter 4202 The Domain of Cataclysmic Knowledge
"A 'Underage Unicorn Protection Law'? Of course there is no such law. Unicorns are powerful and don't need humans to create laws to protect them. What are you worried about? No, she just wants to play with you. Don't worry about her getting tired."
Because little Leona had gone to school, Emilia rode on the back of another little unicorn, flying low beside Shad. Ellie, on the other hand, reverted to her unicorn form and followed them along with the other little unicorns.
Although Emilia's answer reassured Shad somewhat, he still asked "her" to remind him that he must never ride a strange little unicorn again.
The “Central Courtyard” is the central area of the massive St. Byron’s Academy Castle, from which one can reach all areas of the academy in the east, west, north, and south. Therefore, even on Monday mornings, there are quite a few people here.
The courtyard was built in the style of a garden, with flower beds surrounding paths that connected to other parts of the academy. Because the weather was nice today, a dwarf couple sat on a chair by the flower bed on a date, while an elf lady who loved painting was sketching the academy castle. In the pavilion in the southeast corner of the courtyard, the students of the academy's drama club gathered to discuss the script for their next performance.
The ancient "Dragon Blood Tree" is located in the very center of the courtyard. This tree is a relatively precious asset of the academy, so it is surrounded by a low stone fence that reaches knee height. Small flowers are planted inside the fence, and the stone posts are connected by copper-colored rune chains, but this is only for decoration and has no practical function.
Facing the entrance to the academy castle, there stands a display board detailing the history of the dragon blood tree.
Shad, Ellie, and Emilia came to the tree to admire it, and then they heard Mia meowing at the tree.
Shad thought the cat had discovered something, but then two cats, one white and one black, suddenly darted out from the dense red branches of the dragon blood tree. After landing, they quickly ran away into the distance, clearly frightened by Xiaomia.
"Meow~"
Xiaomia looked very pleased, and Emilia explained with a smile:
"Some of the academy's cats like to rest in the trees. Speaking of which, can Xiaomia climb trees?"
"Probably. But I don't recall ever seeing it climb a tree."
This ancient tree, said to be five thousand years old, was enormous. Emilia passed beneath it every day, having long regarded it as a natural landscape, and thus had never observed it closely. However, from its appearance, the ancient tree did not seem particularly remarkable, and Shad could only sense its extraordinary vitality.
After a quiet apology, the three of them crossed the fence, and then Shad and Emilia reached out and touched the bark of the ancient tree.
Emilia sensed time, Shad sensed life, and Ellie peeked out and sniffed.
"This tree is really ancient."
This was the only conclusion the pointy-eared elf had reached, while the white-haired unicorn girl was somewhat puzzled:
"It seems like there's something there, but it also seems like there isn't."
As for Xia De, he didn't actually sense much either:
"This tree's vitality is almost too strong. There are some ancient trees in the Vista Forest, but none of them can compare to this one in terms of life energy. It feels to me like it is still a sapling that is growing and will continue to grow in the future."
The branches, leaves, and roots of the Dragon Blood Tree are all widely used materials for potions and alchemy. Since the founding of Saint Byrons, countless witches and ring sorcerers have come into contact with it. If the secret is really on this tree, then finding it will certainly not be easy.
Emilia then flew up to the treetop to check, having already decided that if she was discovered, she would say she was looking for a cat. Shad circled the tree trunk again, bent down to touch the ground to sense it, and then saw Ellie sniffing around the tree.
When Emilia returned empty-handed, Ellie pointed confidently to the big tree:
"There's definitely something wrong with this tree!"
Then she reminded her again:
"We can let the cat check the situation."
Shad looked at the cat on his shoulder, then grabbed its waist and lifted it toward the tree. Mia looked much longer than when she was lying down, but this time she was very obedient, sniffing around and then meowing.
Neither Ellie nor Emilia knew what "cat" meant, but Shad, who had spent a lot of time with Mia, guessed what Mia meant:
"It was probably saying that there was a problem with the tree and that it could be examined more closely. It also asked me where I was going to have lunch today, reminding me not to forget lunchtime."
Can a single cat meow contain so many meanings?
Since Ellie and Mia both think there's something wrong with the tree, Shad believes he has reason to believe there really is something wrong with it.
Just as Shad was pondering how to uncover the tree's secrets, a shout came from afar:
"Emilia! Professor Daniste is looking for you. Something happened at the library, and she wants you and Marquez to go help out."
A mermaid girl who appeared to be older than Emilia approached quickly, addressing Emilia by her first name, clearly a friend of Emilia's. As for "Márquez," she obviously referred to Ellie Márquez.
What happened to the library?
The little elf asked, and together with Shad, they left the tree. The mermaid girl had beautiful pink coral decorations behind her ears, and her long, sea-blue hair had a texture like silk.
She was about to speak when she looked at Xia De:
"Who is this?"
Emilia winked:
"Ellie's relative."
"what?"
Shad looked at her in astonishment, but Ellie nodded:
"Yes, it's him, the unicorn."
It's common knowledge that innocent unicorn girls don't lie, so the mermaid girl believed it immediately:
"Can adult unicorns now transform into humans?"
She muttered something to herself, then gestured for Emilia to follow her toward the library:
"Professor Daniste said that only you or Ellie can solve this problem, it seems to be called the 'Book Catastrophe'."
Emilia's pointed ears twitched; she knew something had happened.
The "Book Catastrophe," or "Knowledge Catastrophe," refers to a series of catastrophic events categorized as "knowledge and wisdom." When Shad first experienced the Chosen Ones' story, the world was relatively stable, so the calamities were not particularly pronounced, nor were they as severe as they are now.
But now that the story of the chosen ones has progressed to the tenth, disasters that were not prominent in the past are becoming more frequent and more difficult to handle.
The so-called "knowledge catastrophe" is mainly manifested in two aspects. On the one hand, certain "knowledge" may suddenly become toxic, and once learned and deeply understood, it will have a huge impact on one's spirit and mind.
On the other hand, there is the book's animation, where the book itself comes alive and develops extraordinary abilities based on its content. The most common, or rather, the ability possessed by almost every Cataclysmic Book, is the use of spatial forces similar to "locks of illusion" to materialize the knowledge within and cause regional disasters.
This space, formed by stories and knowledge, is collectively referred to as the "Catastrophe Knowledge Realm".
Fortunately, "knowledge catastrophes" do not occur frequently. Although they have a huge impact once they take shape, churches and colleges have mastered early warning methods and can solve problems before "knowledge catastrophes" escalate.
Furthermore, to deal with the second scenario, it is sufficient to seal the book itself. However, to seal the book, one must first locate the book within the "Cataclysmic Knowledge Space."
While time and fate are not the right forces to solve this problem, Emilia, as a chosen one, has a strong resistance to the power of calamity, so she has often been asked to solve problems in the past.
However, this is the first time that a "knowledge catastrophe" has occurred in the academy library. This library is protected by the guardian deity of libraries, the Grey-Robed Sage, and even though it stores a large number of books, the possibility of problems is theoretically much lower than in other places.
The problematic area was located on the first floor of the library. By the time Shad, Ellie, and Emilia arrived, the area had already been sealed off, but the rest of the library remained open.
A gray, silk-like curtain enclosed an area roughly the size of half a football field. Bookshelves and the curtain together formed a wall, and outside the wall, the academy's professors were discussing the issue and setting up a ritual to prevent the space unfolding from the books from expanding further.
When the mermaid girl led everyone to Danest, the administrator, whose mood was clearly not good, briefly informed the three of their current situation:
"The Cataclysmic Knowledge Realm was discovered by the Library's reconnaissance ritual shortly after its formation, but the situation is not yet very complicated. The problematic book has been identified as 'Ancient Druids: An Analysis of Basic Polymorphism.' The area behind the curtain wall has now transformed into a vast primeval forest, larger than the Vesta Grove, and initial investigations have revealed a large number of malicious entities within it."
The book must reside within some entity inside. Everyone who enters is immediately transformed into an animal, and over time, they gradually lose their self-awareness and become a true animal. Only those who are masters of transfiguration can resist this influence.
Although Emilia was also present, Danist only asked Shad and Ellie:
"Can you handle the problem here?"
Ellie had only been at the academy for two months and had never encountered anything like this before, which is why Danist asked Shad to help her.
"no problem."
Shad nodded, and Emilia, knowing it would be more convenient for the two of them to handle it, said from the side:
"I'll wait for you outside. Once we've sorted things out here, let's go have lunch together."
PS: Let's summarize the various manifestations of the disasters that have appeared so far. Besides the main manifestations, there are other anomalies, which will not be discussed here.
Balance - None
Darkness - Darkness Descends
Death - On the Brink of Life and Death
Knowledge - Knowledge Catastrophe - Catastrophe Knowledge Domain
Earth - Twisted Earth
Space - Disordered Space
Light - Special Aura
Time - Time Tree Hole
Destiny - Infinite Serpent/Before the End
Life - Twisted Life Spark