World Occult User Guide

Witches appear frequently in legends around the world, and its history is as tumultuous and diverse as its subjects, largely undefined.

Generally speaking, witchcraft refers to a person who manipulates magical magic with the help of spells or rituals. Although it can also be improved through learning, this kind of power is different from magic and stems from the witch's innate talent or blood.

As early as Exodus, there are the first records of witchcraft and witches:

A poisoned woman must not be allowed to live.

It is worth mentioning that, other than this statement, the Old Testament makes no mention of the relationship between witches and Satan.

In the Greek era, there were endless legends about "poisonous women". For example, Evancia's crooked-necked bird was a sorceress, and mythological characters such as Hecate, Circe, and Lamia were all named Named a witch.

Rome continued the previous dynasty and recognized witches as "women who make potions" in the "Twelve Tables of Bronze Tables".

In the Middle Ages, the Holy See expanded the ancient concept and labeled witches as heretics and devil's maids. The modern image of "witches" also took shape.

For the next two centuries, witches were defined as heretics who worshiped the devil, and witch hunting became a profitable persecution.

The Protestant Reformation continued the campaign against witches, with Martin Luther calling them "the devil's mistresses," a theory that influenced mainstream Western culture.

By the end of the 18th century, the phenomenon was dying out, but prejudice and fear of witches remained.

Lin An deliberately switched the "Black Witch, White Witch, Scarlet Witch and Their Allies" in the Encyclopedia of Magic to the system's default language, which is the original language of the ancient book, and translated it according to his mother's English alphabet.

Its title is actually "Veneficium, Wicca, Obeah and Gu," four words each with origins far beyond their apparent translation.

Veneficium, the Latin word for "poisoning," was a common medieval term used to describe witchcraft.

It is generally believed in Xizhou that witches will use poisons prepared by themselves or provided by the devil to cause highly fatal epidemics such as the plague or the Black Death. They are also the culprits of common diseases such as tuberculosis, leprosy, and epilepsy.

In the description of the Protestant priest Martin Del Rio, witches are the opposite of women's fertility. They can produce poison in the breasts instead of milk, and even the breath is poisonous.

Therefore, Veneficium is systematically translated as "Black Witch", which is the general name for a series of poisoning occult techniques.

In many cultures outside of the Redeemer world, "witchcraft" is often one of the ways local people try to explain strange natural sightings.

Some cultures are not afraid of witches, but embrace an attitude of curiosity, awe, and harmonious coexistence.

For example, in the Irish and Gaelland Highlands, witchcraft comes from gifts from fairies and goblins. Blessed witches can travel back and forth between the fairy kingdom and the human kingdom, and use their own witchcraft to help local people communicate with fairies.

It is a pity that this civilization, like the natives of Upper East China, was brutally massacred, expelled and destroyed by the Lion Kingdom, and its original beliefs were lost in the long river of history.

It was not until the 20th century that a generation of nostalgic mystics, theosophists and spiritualists romanticized the image of these witches and created a new religious culture.

They call it Wicca, the old English term for "witch", which together with Plastic Shaman and Druid Resurrection, is a second adaptation of modern pursuit of spiritual liberation.

An important figure in the revival of the culture was the enthusiastic folklorist Sir James Fraser, who developed his own concept of "witchcraft" based on the beliefs and practices of the past.

Thus the "White Witch" was born.

The purpose of Wicca is "Wiccan Law", so White Witchcraft is friendly, includes a lot of healing and detoxifying knowledge, and is intended to benefit mankind like the Witches of Ireland.

In addition to the West, witchcraft is also very popular in South China.

Beginning in the 16th century, the prevalence of colonialism turned 90% of the population of Southern Continent into permanent slaves, and Western Continent plundered a large amount of wealth from there.

During the rule, the colonists who stayed in Nanzhou often had fear of strange civilizations.

In the records kept by the authorities, the Xizhou people mentioned that the locals would retaliate against them with a deep, terrifying and bloody spiritual knowledge.

In Nanzhou culture, the dead will remain in the world in the form of ancestors and souls, and need to be cared for and respected. Living people with professional knowledge can also use means to request the protection of these "ancestral spirits" or let them attack others.

The word Xizhou chose to describe this spiritual knowledge was "Obeah," an Igbo term meaning "witchcraft" and literally meaning "to strike with poison."

The system calls her "Red Witch".

The colonists could not understand the origin of ancestral spirits. According to Western logic, people either go to heaven or hell after death and cannot remain in the world.

So they speculated that the witchcraft in Nanzhou involved poisoning, because poisoning is always associated with witchcraft.

But there is a subtle difference between the "Red Witch" and the "Black Witch". It is more like a shamanic hoodoo that will cast an evil curse on the target that cannot be shaken off.

The witchcraft entry only has one occult spell linked to the Red Witch. Unlike the short distance restrictions of the Black Witch and the White Witch, it only needs to know the name and appearance of the other party to release a curse and make it sleepless for five days and five nights. .

Nanzhou version of Death Note. Lin An thought.

As for the "Gu" at the end of the title, it is a Chinese character - "Gu".

Thinking of the legend of bewitching and beheading, Lin An understood why the system translated it as "the witch's ally".

This was the first time he read about the mysticism of Central Continent in the Encyclopedia of Magic. Unfortunately, he only mentioned it briefly and did not include the entry of Gu.

After sorting out his thoughts, Lin An closed the ancient book and put it back on the bookshelf.

The real title of this magic encyclopedia should be called "A Prize for Poisoning Techniques from Around the World".

The system gives witchcraft a "disaster" rating.

The further back you go, the more fragmented the Magic Encyclopedia seems to be.

However, Lin An understood its potential, and the witchcraft item was truly all-inclusive.

After a brief recollection, he tried to trace the source of the previously included "The Concept of Witches and Evil III: Hand of Glory", and the system actually prompted him to succeed.

The two mysterious spells included in Hand of Glory, [Listen to Invisible Breathing] and [Fell into Panic], have all been upgraded to disaster level. Unfortunately, the rating of the Magic Encyclopedia itself has not been improved.

After reading the entry carefully, Lin An discovered that the performance of witchcraft requires the consumption of a "Knowledge Seeker" and a "Mother of Desire".

The mysticism of this medium is closely related to mobilizing emotions, causing short-term or permanent mental trauma, such as [falling into panic], which can amplify the inner fear of an individual within a certain range.

Hittite ritual is the god of truth, alchemy is the seeker of knowledge, druidic ritual is the nature sacrifice, and sorcery is the mother of desire.

According to this arrangement, there are a total of 12 magic books...

Is there a book with an entry for "The Lady with the Lamp"?

"Ding dong."

The doorbell rings and the pizza delivery arrives.

Lin An glanced at the alarm clock hanging on the wall. It was already half past seven in the evening. There was no news from her mother. She probably no longer lived in the apartment.

After all, this environment doesn't look like someone living in it.

I'm afraid my mother only used my rental house as a storage room and asked the cleaners to clean it regularly.

Lin An suppressed his unspeakable emotions, put the extra pizza in the refrigerator, collapsed on the sofa, and ate dinner while scrolling through his phone.

There was no red dot on the top of the green bubble. Lin An glanced at the schoolgirl's profile picture and realized that the last time he chatted with her was during the Spring Festival.

So, he took the initiative to send a message to Ruan Ruyun.

Cabin in the Forest: Senior Sister Ruan, I’m back in Ditry City. Do you want to get together at Senior Sister Zhou’s restaurant?

Cabin in the woods: Or you can choose a location.

After more than ten minutes, the school girl who always responded instantly sent the message.

A cloud made of rain: It depends on the situation. I have been very busy recently and have been in the laboratory.

Cabin in the Forest: Let’s make an appointment when you have time.

A cloud made of rain: a good senior.

Lin An cut off the chat screen and noticed that Ruan Ruyun's attitude seemed a little strange.

Could it be!

She has been stimulated recently and is about to awaken the mystery?

Let’s find some time to meet the schoolmates in person. Lin An thought, just use the [Tree Diagram] to check the media and prototypes she can awaken.

…………

In the morning, Lin An took a car to the university campus.

His mother sent the class schedule to his email early. Today at 10:30, she has a lecture in the School of Humanities.

The grass at Ann Arbor University in spring is green, the flowers are in bloom, and it is humid and warm.

The biting cold wind is gone, and the number of tourists taking pictures has nearly tripled compared to winter. Parents who hope to have a successful child bring their children, listen carefully to volunteers explaining the glorious and long history of Ann Arbor University, and take family photos in front of various major buildings.

On the big lawn, leisurely students were sitting in twos and threes. Some were reading, some were basking in the sun, and some were kissing crazily and rolling into a ball in the shade of the trees.

Following the road lined with yellow school flags, Lin An walked into the lecture hall.

This is a room decorated like a warehouse, with modern chairs filled with students who come here to see it.

The lecture had already begun, and he hunched over and sat down in the back row.

“Folklore is passed on from person to person. In its ancient sense, it creates a dialogue between human generations and, unlike written material, develops in an active and flexible way, constantly adapting to its audience and context. .”

Adelia wore a long windbreaker and a delicate silk scarf, which was incompatible with the simple university classroom in Eagle Kingdom.

Lin An found that many students were not paying attention to the class and secretly took pictures of her with their mobile phones and uploaded them to Snapshot.

Obviously, Adelia fulfilled all the fantasies of these college students about the nobility of the West.

Fuss……

Lin An put up the computer screen to cover his mother's seemingly aware gaze.

Although she hadn't seen her for three years, she still looked the same as Lin An remembered her. Time had not left any trace of aging on her, and she had even become faintly younger.

Shrinking his hoodie, Lin An entered the venting mode.

He wanted to see if his mother was a mysterious person.

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