'As expected...'
Listening to Mr. Aldrich's words, Dorothy breathed a sigh of relief and thought to herself. Dorothy wasn't too surprised now that the old man in front of her was Gray Hill.
Because, when she was still in the carriage earlier, she had already seen the four statue-like stone-armored knights standing around Aldrich. These four knights were very similar to those Dorothy had seen at the Gray Hill gathering. From then on, Dorothy had actually been speculating whether Aldrich was Gray Hill.
Now that the other party had admitted it, Dorothy felt relieved but also had other questions.
"As expected... Captain are Mr. Gray Hill from the gathering. So, you were actually trying to test me back then? I wonder what about me caught Captain's attention?"
Dorothy questioned Gray Hill again. It was clear that Gray Hill had likely recognized Dorothy as the young girl who had traded with him at the secret gathering, and Dorothy wasn't sure what exactly had given her away for Aldrich to notice.
Listening to Dorothy's words, Aldrich kept smiling, waved his hand, and said.
"I think, Miss Meisihuos, you haven't specifically practiced how to disguise your voice, have you? At that gathering, the voice you used was actually very unnatural. I immediately heard that you were deliberately raising your pitch to speak, intentionally changing your voice."
'Voice...'
Listening to Aldrich's words, Dorothy instantly realized the problem. She wasn't a professional at voice disguise. At the gathering, she had just deliberately raised her pitch when speaking. If someone knowledgeable in that area had listened closely, they would definitely have noticed something was off.
"You can fool ordinary people like this, but in my opinion, your method of voice changing is very crude, far from skillful or professional. Not only did I hear the problem, but I also used an Extraordinary item to secretly record your voice. Afterward, I tried lowering the pitch to restore and simulated several possible original voices you might have. However, I didn't expect that I would hear one of them on the corridor of this school not long after..."
Aldrich continued speaking. Listening to his words, Dorothy couldn't help but feel a sudden realization in her heart.
"Phew... So that's how it is. That's why you wanted to test me."
"That's right, but the result was that you weren't tested. Instead, some of your brother's actions surprised me. After that, I was never quite sure if you were that little girl until you came to find me today..."
"Heh... Both the brother and sister have some secrets. You wouldn't happen to be from a hidden family, would you? Whether it's Mesi Horse or Dorothy... Your first and last names are not common in this country. They have a bit of an Eastern country feel..."
Aldrich finished speaking, then took another sip of tea. At this point, Dorothy spoke up to answer.
"My brother was just agile since he was young. We are not a hidden family. I came into contact with Spirituality due to some accidental factors."
"Say what you will. Anyway, as long as it doesn't violate my rules, I don't really like to delve into other people's secrets. Alright, Miss Meisihuos, do you have any other questions to ask?"
Slowly placing the teacup back on the table, Aldrich said to Dorothy. Listening to Aldrich's words, Dorothy glanced around at the pile of stone statues.
"Well, then, Mr., is the path you have embarked upon'Stone'?"
Dorothy voiced her question to Aldrich. Although she had a guess about the Spirituality domain he had embarked on, she still asked, and Aldrich answered directly.
"Yes, the Spirituality of'Stone', the domain I pursue, the Stone of Engraving, the Stone of Shaping..." Slowly standing up from his seat, Aldrich looked around at his works and said, while Dorothy continued to ask.
"You have carved so many stone sculptures, is carving... the method of cultivation for'Stone' Extraordinarys?"
"Yes, but it's just one of them..." Answering Dorothy's words, Aldrich slowly walked towards the bust he had been carving just now, and said while stroking it.
"The Spirituality of'Stone' is the most solid cornerstone in this world, existing in all rocks, minerals, metals... everything that is most superficial, most vast, most straightforward, it is the most stable Spirituality."
"Rocks... minerals... metals... That's truly everywhere. In that case, absorbing Spirituality should be quite convenient, right..." Listening to Aldrich's words, Dorothy sighed, while Aldrich shook his head in response.
"Not convenient at all. Although'Stone' is the most widespread, except for a few high-Spirituality gems mined from deep within the earth, the Spirituality contained in ordinary rocks and minerals is very low and heavily diluted, making it very difficult to absorb.
"You have been in contact with the Holy Communion Society before, so I will use 'Cup' as a comparison. In today's hidden world, due to the degeneration of the Fetal Garment Cult, the mainstream accumulation of 'Cup' relies on devouring flesh and blood. However, people cannot eat stones, and they cannot digest them even if they swallow them. Even filling one's stomach with stones makes it difficult to absorb much'Stone'.
"The Spirituality of'Stone' has the strongest stability and inertia among all Spiritualitys. This is an advantage in some aspects, but it is an obstacle in terms of absorption and extraction. Therefore, Extraordinarys associated with'Stone' have other methods to absorb Spirituality..."
"The key word among them is'Shaping'. By pouring heart and skill into processing and shaping metals and rocks, in this process, the craftsman's spirit can resonate with the Spirituality in the rock material, making it active and condensed. The process of the material being processed is the process of the craftsman and the work conversing and resonating with each other."
Aldrich spoke while picking up his tools and giving the final touches to some details of the stone statue.
"Shape the form of the stone with a carving knife, and shape the Spirituality of the stone with the spirit. When a work is completed, the Spirituality of'Stone' within it will change, becoming condensed, active, intelligent, and... easy to absorb..."
While speaking, Aldrich made the final cut. Then, he placed the tools on the table and reached out to touch the bust's shoulder. Then, a casual gray light flashed on Aldrich's hand, and the bust immediately began to crack rapidly, fine cracks covering the surface, and then instantly crumbled into gray dust.
Seeing this scene, Dorothy knew that the Spirituality of'Stone' within the stone statue had been absorbed by Aldrich.
The Spirituality in natural rocks is extremely difficult to absorb, but the craftsman's painstaking processing can make the Spirituality of'Stone' active and condensed, making it easy to absorb after the work is completed.
This is the mainstream method for'Stone' Extraordinarys to absorb Spirituality...
"So that's how it is... That truly opened my eyes, Mr. Aldrich. However, since the work is destroyed after the Spirituality within it is absorbed, why are there still so many excellent works in the school?"
Watching the scene before her, Dorothy asked with both surprise and confusion. Listening to Dorothy's words, Aldrich sighed, then spoke.
"As you said, they are all excellent works. Since they are so excellent, how can I bear to destroy them? Carving works rich in Spirituality requires wholehearted dedication and meticulous carving. Every work that comes from my hands is my painstaking effort. Slightly inferior ones are fine, but once I encounter a work that satisfies me, I feel a bit reluctant... Heh, perhaps in some sense, compared to being an Extraordinary, I lean a little more towards the identity of a craftsman."