Samuel shielded his presence, walking at a moderate pace as he strolled along Andrew Street.
"Speaking of which, are there any standardized cultivation methods with official procedures on the government side?" Samuel curiously asked the Travel Guide. "It can't all be just luck, right?"
If it were all luck, then whether the extraordinary was hidden or not would be meaningless.
After all, under such a premise, even knowing about the Law wouldn't guarantee becoming a Law Seeker, and even not knowing about the Law could lead to a sudden awakening one day.
In that case, hiding the extraordinary would actually make management more inconvenient. It would be like burying powder kegs in some corner of the city without marking their locations, just waiting for some unlucky soul to accidentally light the fuse, while the authorities themselves lacked corresponding countermeasures.
Samuel's fingers gently tapped on the pages of the Travel Guide. The pages briefly went offline to check information; it would take a moment for results to appear.
A few seconds later, after a simple query, the Travel Guide provided an answer: "There really are, and not just one kind."
Neat black handwriting began to appear on the blank paper, stroke by stroke.
"Currently, there are three mainstream methods of awakening."
"Mainstream? Oh, so there are unorthodox methods too." Samuel adjusted the bowler hat on his head.
"Yes, for example, directly Inscribing Law Marks is a quite dangerous and unorthodox method," the Travel Guide replied.
"Ahaha, so that's how it is. I thought it seemed quite convenient," Samuel laughed twice, his tone sounding somewhat embarrassed, but his expression was full of indifference.
The laughter spread through the air, unconsciously making the corners of the surrounding pedestrians' mouths curl upward. They couldn't hear the laughter and wouldn't notice Samuel, but they just felt inexplicably cheerful.
However, the Travel Guide didn't mind and continued explaining, the text on its pages appearing line by line:
"The first method, just as you guessed, is simply experiencing emotions. Feel a certain emotion, and when your own emotions reach a certain peak, you will naturally step onto the path of the Law and become a Law Seeker."
"This peak is uncertain. Some require a great amount, while others seem to need only a moment of thought. The authorities have no reasonable explanation and can only define it as the 'indeterminacy of the Law,' speculating it's the influence of the Law of 【Fallacy】 on the entire Law system."
"But this method is full of uncertainty, lacks an accurate standard, and cannot even be subjected to artificial brainwashing interference. Therefore, it mostly only appears among civilian Law Seekers—what the authorities call wild Law Seekers."
"Like weeds, you don't know which corner they'll suddenly sprout from, nor what shape they'll grow into."
Samuel imagined such a scene.
A child struggling to survive in the slums, suddenly awakening in some cold winter night due to extreme despair. 【Silence】? Yes, he would awaken 【Silence】.
A gambler who has lost everything, swallowed by despair when losing his last coin, yet grabbing the rope of the extraordinary from the abyss. He would probably walk the path of 【Corruption】.
Or perhaps a young person immersed in love, luckily touching 【Retroflow】 one night while praying for his "happiness" to last forever...
That sounded quite interesting.
"The second method is meditation, the most commonly used means by official organizations themselves to help newcomers awaken, and also a method favored by some secret organizations. It has a relatively high success rate and is sufficiently safe."
"Although Law Marks are complex—if I were to write them in detail on paper, it would fill several pages and might not even be finished—they also have simplified forms."
While explaining, the Travel Guide sketched a simple smiling clown face on the paper.
The drawing wasn't detailed, just a few strokes. The outlined pattern resembled a certain emblem more than a portrait. Yet it also seemed like layer upon layer of phantom images, overlapping and finally converging into the current pattern.
It was like using a mathematical formula to describe a physical law; although simplified, the core essence remained.
Although these patterns weren't complicated, looking at them carefully would make one feel somewhat dizzy, feeling as if this emblem was twisting, constantly changing, opening its mouth to laugh heartily. In a daze, one could even hear faint laughter echoing in their ears.
However, Samuel felt nothing when looking at it; the real "standardized feeling" was actually told to him by the Travel Guide.
The Travel Guide provided an explanation: "See, this is meditation. Continuously outline the pattern of the Law Mark in your mind, calm your heart, and carve it into the deepest part of your soul."
"Frequently outlining one's own Law Marks or Law Rhymes in the mind is a method for Law Seekers to concentrate, adjust their state, and enhance their comprehension of the Law. It's also a small shortcut for Law Seekers to step onto this path."
"The advantage of this method lies not only in significantly increasing the success rate but also in its relatively high safety. Many secret organizations and even cults use it themselves. Whether considering success rates or preserving living forces, this method is quite good."
Samuel nodded in understanding. After all, cultivating a Law Seeker requires resource investment; no one wants the seed to rot in the soil before sprouting.
"Then what about the third method?" He found it very interesting, as he hadn't learned about these before.
He walked slowly forward along the sidewalk of Andrew Street, his boots making soft tapping sounds on the stone slabs.
"The last one is a combination of the first and second methods, and to some extent, it's also a kind of insurance mechanism." The Travel Guide outlined text.
"The authorities call it 'old leading new,' usually applicable to those who cannot awaken Law Marks through meditation but still desire to become Law Seekers."
Simple schematic diagrams appeared on the page: two stick figures, one slightly larger, one slightly smaller. Wavy lines emanated from the larger one, pointing toward the smaller one; the smaller one had a rotating vortex drawn in its head, indicating a meditative state.
"The specific process involves having an experienced Law Seeker actively emit extreme emotions linked to the corresponding Law, guiding the newcomer to generate a large amount of corresponding emotions during meditation."
"This isn't direct brainwashing; it's closer to guidance. And they must grasp that 'degree' correctly. If it's too much, directly altering the newcomer's thinking, then the path to becoming a Law Seeker is probably cut off."
"And during meditation, the mind isn't calm, making this method somewhat more dangerous compared to the second method, but much safer than those unorthodox actions."
"However, as I said before, the power of Law Seekers is sometimes quite idealistic. The path of the Law that others lead you onto won't take you far."
"Those who become Law Seekers through this 'old leading new' method need ten times, even nine times, the effort of others to advance to Law Contemplator."
Samuel was thoughtful.
"So, if I directly conducted 'old leading new,' it would be much simpler."
"But..."
"Hmm, I guess I'll forget it after all. No challenge, no fun, and besides, I want to see which Law he can walk on his own."
He laughed and sighed twice.
"Ah, how nice. Next, it's my turn as a teacher to instruct him. Well, although I'm a half-baked teacher myself."
"Mhm, one-on-one tutoring from a famous teacher. We certainly didn't have such good conditions back in our day."
It was the voice of seniority.
At that moment, Samuel's intuition was suddenly triggered. He casually flipped through the Travel Guide and indeed found several extra items in the Travel Guide's "inventory bar."
These were all small "toys" he had made during his previous boredom.
"Oh, Celt is home." Samuel nodded, then sensed Falson, who had successfully forced himself to calm down and was accepting the new setting. "Well, I should take a proper stroll too."
Falson now seemed to plan on reading novels to pass the time while playing the piano, or perhaps he still didn't trust Samuel.
In short, he didn't seem very willing to chat with Samuel.
So Samuel decided to wander around by himself for a while.
As he spoke, his left hand holding the Travel Guide curled its fingers and gently tapped twice on the cover.
Without any instruction, the Travel Guide automatically flipped a couple of pages, arriving at a blank page that displayed a map of Reins.
This time, the map appeared quickly; it didn't need careful loading to outline a complete, detailed map. After all, it had drawn one for Celt before, so naturally it had a backup. Now it just needed to copy and paste.
"Now then, my dear navigator," Samuel's voice carried a lazy smile as his gaze swept over the dense network of streets and alleys on the map. "Around here, is there any place that I would find 'fun'?"
"You know what my definition of fun is."
Text appeared at the center of the map, this time seeming somewhat helpless: "That's difficult. After all, I only know the general situation of this city; it's hard to find sufficiently detailed things."
"Is that so? So you need a radar?" Samuel stroked his chin.
"Yes, I need a radar," the Travel Guide replied.
Following the text was a simple emoticon probably representing helplessness:
(￣_￣).
"So there are things you can't do too." Samuel smiled and raised his right hand, extending an index finger.
"I'm just a book..." The Travel Guide's text seemed somewhat exasperated. One could even imagine it rolling its eyes if it had an expression. "You can't expect a tool to do everything you can."
"Oh my." Samuel smiled and raised an eyebrow, extending his empty right hand, elegantly lifting an index finger. His fingertip lightly and casually tapped the damp, chilly air.
Ding.
A crisp sound rang out. The air touched by Samuel's finger suddenly rippled with concentric circles, spreading outward. Those ripples passed through the streets, through buildings, extending all the way to the horizon.
They swept over the street's bricks, over the pedestrians on the road and the carriages on the nearby lanes, over the shop windows glowing with dim yellow light and the deep alley entrances, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, disturbing something deeper.
As the ripples spread, the clouds in the sky seemed to thicken a bit, and the wind gradually stopped.
Overhead, the originally nearly cloudless sky slowly began to fill with dark clouds, as if injected with thick ink. The color suddenly deepened, and the speed of their churning noticeably accelerated.
The originally somewhat chilly wind also gradually disappeared.
"It's going to rain. Remember to take shelter and keep warm; winter rain is quite cold." Samuel suddenly opened his mouth and said softly, not very loudly.
It was unclear who he was reminding.
One second, two seconds...
Drip.
A drop of water fell from the sky toward his head, blocked mid-air by a semi-transparent umbrella that appeared out of nowhere.
Samuel's hand now held a semi-transparent umbrella that hadn't been there before.
This semi-transparent umbrella appeared out of thin air in Samuel's hand, like 3D printing, starting from the tip, then the ribs, canopy, and handle, fully materializing in less than a second.
The clouds in the sky grew thicker and darker, the range of dark clouds gradually expanding, spreading across the entire city.
With the first drop falling, more and more raindrops fell from overhead, the rain intensifying, gradually becoming a heavy rain that covered all of Reins.
This rain came suddenly, without warning.
Samuel, holding the semi-transparent umbrella, walked slowly forward along the side of Andrew Street.
Part of his consciousness extended outward, mingling with the dark clouds in the sky and every falling raindrop, spreading throughout the entire city.
Every raindrop became an extension of his senses, his "eyes" and "ears" cast down. His consciousness network, like roots seeping into every corner of the city with the rainwater, made all of Reins seem, at this moment, like a miniature, breathing model in his palm.
He looked up at the semi-transparent umbrella, watching raindrops hit the canopy one by one. Through the canopy, he watched water droplets explode, slide, and explode again, the corner of his mouth always carrying that smile seemingly carved on his face.
"I quite like this kind of transparent umbrella," he said to the Travel Guide in his hand, smiling. "You can see the rain hitting the canopy."
It wasn't that he found it particularly beautiful or elegant; he just thought the way water droplets exploded was fun.
He lowered his head again, looking at the book in his hand.
"I've made the radar for you. Next, just help me summarize; I'm too lazy to look for them one by one," he said to the Travel Guide.
"Okay." The Travel Guide's response flashed by and quickly disappeared.
As the rain fell, Samuel suddenly noticed something.
That was when his consciousness, following the rainwater, fell into the "Royal District" at the westernmost part of the West District, it would immediately disconnect from his own consciousness and vanish into nothingness.
A few hours ago, when he first opened his eyes in this world, there seemed to be a similar situation.
Recalling, it was indeed so.
Back then, he had just arrived in this world, and the laughter he emitted out of joy couldn't blend in when it touched the Royal District.
It was as if a spherical barrier surrounded the Royal District.
But it only enveloped the Royal District area; as for the other parts of Reins, especially the slums, they didn't enjoy such treatment at all.
Even though this is still the capital...
He looked down at the map.
He hadn't paid attention before, but now, looking carefully, there were indeed some clues.
There was indeed an area marked as the Royal District on the map, but it wasn't as detailed as other areas.
It only had a rough outline and some well-known, publicly registered scenic images of parts within the Royal District from newspapers.
"Oh dear, it seems I might have been discovered long ago." He smiled but didn't pay it too much mind.