[You have successfully unlocked new Gonzalez vocabulary. Evaluation: Gods are gods, not spirits. Special Reward: Survival Points +1, Gonzalez Language +1.]

’The translation was correct!’

Wei’en continued reading. The founder of the Turing Empire had the support of several deities.

At the empire’s founding, the popes of the five major churches—the Sun Church, Night Church, Earth Church, Storm Church, and War Church—were all present to crown Turing I...

’Five major churches?’

Wei’en looked at the translated names. Of the True God Churches he knew, only the Storm and Earth Churches were on the list... ’Are the other three gone?’

"At the coronation ceremony, the gods performed a ritual. Turing I received the blessings of the five True Gods, and the Turing Empire received the protection of the True God Churches... Second page."

’Hmm? More words I don’t recognize.’

Wei’en stared at the large blocks of unfamiliar Gonzalez on the second page. After a moment of thought, he opened his panel for a look.

’135 Survival Points... Time to spend them!’

Gonzalez Language 7/100, 8/100... 100/100.

[Your Gonzalez Language is at 100/100. Would you like to upgrade?]

[Yes.]

[Congratulations, your Gonzalez Language level has been raised to Proficient. Evaluation: With this, you may learn secrets best left unknown... Special Reward: Survival Points +2, Spirit Level +2, Resilience Level +2.]

[Note: Gonzalez Language (Proficient) means you have mastered only a portion of its vocabulary. When deciphering unknown words, your success rate for correct comprehension is 30%. This rate can be improved with auxiliary tools.]

As the upgrade completed, the characters of the Gonzalez language—few in number, yet seemingly containing infinite knowledge—surfaced one by one in Wei’en’s mind.

’4,899 characters.’

He remembered getting a total of one thousand, three hundred and fifty-six characters when he went from Beginner to Adept. This upgrade to Proficient gave him about three times that...

Wei’en slowly opened his eyes. Deep within them, Gonzalez characters flashed past, casting a dark shadow over his crimson pupils.

In a daze, he felt as if he were passing through layers of mist to a hidden space, a place beneath fate and above time.

Two immense figures stood looking down upon the entire land. One, dressed in a white robe with long white hair and a beard, looked as unassuming as an old academic.

Next to him was a woman with a stunning figure, clad in a tight black suit.

But Wei’en couldn’t see them clearly—or, to be precise, he couldn’t see the faces of the two gods. It felt as if an invisible shadow lay between them and his eyes.

"...Gonzalez, what’s the point of this?"

"Heh. This is far more meaningful than eternal life. Don’t you find this world a bit too chaotic?"

"So what?"

"Add a little color, that’s all."

"’Is that so?’ the woman’s voice grew cold. ’How utterly boring!’"

"Hahaha... Perhaps. But when all the world knows the name Gonzalez, I will awaken again. I hope you’re still here when that day comes."

"Hmph. I will be!"

The old man in the white robe seemed to glance casually in Wei’en’s direction, his laughter rising once more. "Speak my name, and you shall be granted eternal, boundless wisdom!"

In an instant, the scene before Wei’en’s eyes vanished, leaving him staring blankly at his familiar workshop.

’Gonzalez... Eternal wisdom?’

[You have learned a fragment of a lost secret. Ancient God Gonzalez’s Awakening Progress +1 (Current Progress: 34/???). Special Reward: Origin +1.]

Wei’en merely glanced at the system notification before he began to chant in a low voice, "Gonzalez, Gonzalez..."

’Not a single thing happened. That liar!’

He clamped his mouth shut in indignation and went back to reading the second page. "..."

’Damn it, how are there still so many words I can’t translate?’

Still, it was much better than before the upgrade. At least it wasn’t huge, indecipherable blocks anymore, just intermittent gaps.

"In March of the year 89 of the Third Era, the Eldest Prince was born and received a blessing from the Pope of the Sun Church..."

"In June of the same year, the second prince was born. On that day, darkness enveloped the land, and the Pope of the Night Church... I don’t recognize the name... blessed the second prince of the Turing Empire?"

"In September of that same year, the eldest princess was born. The Storm Church acted before the Earth Church could, blessing the baby girl and taking her into the church to be raised..."

[You have successfully unlocked a new Gonzalez vocabulary word... Special Reward: Survival Points +1, Gonzalez Language Proficiency +1.]

[...]

[You have successfully unlocked a new Gonzalez vocabulary word... Special Reward: Survival Points +1, Gonzalez Language Proficiency +1.]

Through a combination of guesswork and deduction, Wei’en managed to identify a dozen or so new words and get the general gist of the second page.

’So, Turing I of the Turing Empire and the Empress had several children in the same year, and each child was blessed and taken in by one of the major True God Churches right after birth.’

’With the *same* Empress?’

’How could she be that fertile?’

Wei’en double-checked the Empress’s name—

"Lilith Oracio Leonard? I don’t even know what species she is, popping out a kid every three months. Incredible!"

’Hmm, I’d better remember that name. She’s a walking argument against family planning.’

’Still, was the Turing Empire of the Third Era really that powerful?’

’The five major True God Churches were practically fighting over who got to bless the heirs. What was in it for them?’

Puzzled, Wei’en flipped to the third page. His eyes flew wide at what he saw, and a curse slipped out. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Holy shit, I don’t recognize a single word?!"

The third page contained a total of 329 Gonzalez characters, and he didn’t recognize a single one...

This time, he didn’t even have the chance to try and guess...

In disbelief, Wei’en flipped through a few more pages. Staring at the massive blocks of unfamiliar words, he sighed helplessly.

’It’s not that I don’t want to translate... I just genuinely don’t recognize anything!’

"Looks like I have to keep spending points. A thousand Survival Points... all just to read what’s obviously a historical chronicle... Feels like a rip-off."