Lost Miracles

Sitting by the fire, with the crackling of the burning logs as a backdrop, Safin slowly began to speak.

"Ah, I've never taught a novice before. You seem in no hurry, so we can take our time and explain things thoroughly."

"Please, definitely explain everything thoroughly," Mithra nodded in agreement.

Safin seemed pleased with Mithra's attitude and continued. "The first thing I need to teach you is that miracles are the power of belief. To put it more eloquently, it's faith."

"Faith? Do I have to join some kind of religion?" Mithra asked.

To be honest, she didn't really want to believe in anything, especially after hearing Safin's previous tone. This world seemed to really have gods.

"Ha ha, like I said, that's just a more official way of putting it. In reality, simply trusting and believing firmly is enough. Besides, there are no gods worth worshiping in Dreamland right now, and no established churches that have been recognized." Safin explained.

Mithra nodded in understanding.

"Miracles don't care about those who lack faith. Only those who believe that miracles will appear, can they be born."

"That sounds very idealistic," Mithra commented.

"Idealistic? Hmm, in a literal sense, that's correct. The power of the mind is great," Safin smiled and nodded, then continued. "The earliest miracles originated from our desire and pursuit of various things outside ourselves. Initially, a group of wise men stole the power of nature, wild beasts, spirits, even gods, to create the miracles we have today."

"They organized these miracles, researched a system, and discovered a way to manipulate this magical power."

"Those who possess this method, are believers."

Safin's words came to an end, and Mithra understood roughly why those who use miracles aren't called more literally "Miracle Users" but rather the more ambiguous "Believers."

Miracles don't directly stem from the user's own power, but rather from their belief, which is the outward expression of their inner self.

"That was a summary. I don't think I got anything wrong, uhm, wait a sec." Safin said, thought for a moment, and then suddenly reached into a cloth bag behind him.

Under Mithra's confused and curious gaze, Safin pulled out an old book.

The writing on the cover was initially a strange language that Mithra didn't understand, but after staring at it for a moment, it gradually transformed into the English she was most familiar with.

Was this also one of her eye abilities?

The writing in the book was so unfamiliar. Logically, the language of this world should be different from her previous life's language, and yet she was still able to communicate fluently with Safin...

So what the hell was the "life lock"?! How important was it to be traded for these eyes?

"Ahem, it's still here." Safin flipped through the book.

"What is that?"

"Sanctuary Beginner's Textbook."

"... You just now..."

"I was just giving a summarized introduction to the lecture material." Safin didn't seem embarrassed at all, and a rather unappealing smile crept onto his rigid face.

Mithra was speechless.

Flipping through a few pages of the preface, Safin chuckled, then closed the book and handed it to Mithra. "Here it is for you first. Even though it's a bit dry, it might be useful to you."

Mithra accepted it.

Safin raised his hand. "So, let's move directly to the practical part now. The basic process of releasing miracles is: sensing, channeling, imagining, releasing."

As he spoke, a faint golden glow emanated from the bracelet on Safin's arm. Mithra saw a faint, common prism-like pattern flicker, and a glowing orb emitting a gentle light appeared in Safin's hand.

Mithra: ?

Seeing Mithra's confused expression, Safin dimmed the light of the orb. "Is it too bright?"

"No, it's just I don't understand," Mithra said straightforwardly.

"That's normal. Your sense isn't awakened yet, so it's difficult to perceive the details of this borrowing power process. I'm just showing you an example. This is the simplest "Illumination" within the "Light" miracle, drawing directly from natural light."

Mithra looked down and was surprised to find black dots appearing on the light orb!

As she focused, the black dots rapidly enlarged, forming text.

[ "Illumination": In ancient times, it was called "Miraculous Light". A miracle that draws self-generated light. The most basic light miracle, and the first miracle in human history. The first miracle was performed by "Kahira", declaring that mankind could see the light of miracles.]

[ —— "From this day forward, I declare, mankind will no longer be slaves."]

This miracle was the most basic, but it had an ancient air.

And Mithra had gained another unfamiliar name.

"You keep mentioning sense. That seems to be something essential for performing miracles," Mithra said to Safin, regaining her composure.

"That's right. The human body is inherently weak, its blood does not contain strength, but its intellect is like a treasure trove, even reaching towards the divine. Sense emanates from our intellect, like a bridge, helping us perform miracles."

Having finished his explanation, Safin looked at Mithra and extended his hand. "Hold my hand. Awaken sense is also very simple. You just need to experience a miracle stimulation. Pay attention to your feelings."

Without hesitation, Mithra placed her hand on Safin's rough palm.

Once again, the pattern on Safin's bracelet flashed, and Mithra noticed it but didn't think much of it. She focused her attention.

Very quickly, she felt her vision go dark.

Not just her vision, but her hearing, sense of smell, taste, and even her sense of touch seemed to disappear for a brief moment.

Everything but her thoughts seemed to fall into nothingness.

She waited patiently for a moment. In the pitch black nothingness, she seemed to sense something.

Mithra "saw" a white silhouette.

And then? It seemed to be her!

On the white silhouette's stomach, a burning red flame was swirling.

All of Mithra's senses returned, and she stared blankly at the white orb glowing in her hand.

"I used you to channel the miracle, but because your sense wasn't awakened, you were passively mobilized instead, using all your senses. In that void state, you were stimulated to awaken, and your intuition is very vivid now," Safin explained, while dispelling the orb in Mithra's palm.

"Now, tell me what you saw?" Safin asked Mithra expectantly.

"A white figure of myself, with something red on its stomach," Mithra replied directly.

Safin: "..."

Mithra: ?

"What?" Mithra asked, seeing that Safin was waiting.

"Nothing?" Safin replied, stunned.

"Nothing."

Facing Mithra's crisp and clear response, Safin paused for a moment.

Then he touched his forehead. "Are you sure you didn't see anything else?"

"Yes."

Safin pondered.

Seeing this, Mithra asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Your sense is too limited. You only have "Self" and "Ki"."

Mithra listened quietly.

Safin explained, "There are many types of sense, like how people are born with different appearances but ultimately share the same essence. Broadly speaking, they're divided into nature, beast, spirit, self, ki..."

"Everyone's self sense is essential. It's the most basic component. Ki sense is similar, but everyone's level is different, it can be deep or shallow. You can clearly see the red "Ki", which is enough. But besides that, normal people should also have sense in other aspects of nature, like water, fire, wood, earth, etc... And then there are even more profound senses."

"So you're saying my talent is very poor?" Mithra scratched her head.

Safin shook his head, "No, the types of sense don't represent any talent. But they're like a passport. Without these senses, you can't directly borrow corresponding things to perform miracles. You need to use intermediaries. What surprised me is that your situation is very rare... This situation could be explained by the fact that you've had almost no interaction or experience with this world, you're untainted."

"But that's impossible. People born in this world have already been tainted by the dust of the world."

Mithra felt like maybe it was because she was reincarnated.

"What's an intermediary?" She didn't have any idea, so she continued asking.

Safin couldn't figure out the reason either, so he put it aside. Hearing Mithra's question, he raised his hand and gestured towards the bracelet: "This is an intermediary. Dreamland has some special minerals, some creature materials, or even spirits fallen from the sky. These kinds of materials can be refined and crafted into corresponding sense intermediaries. With these things, even without sense, you can use them as a bridge to channel and perform miracles."

"Do you not have light sense?" Safin had been wearing this bracelet when he used miracles earlier.

"No, my light sense is very deep, it's my strong point. But with the kind of intermediary that can add speed and efficiency to the channeling process, it's very helpful in crucial moments," Safin explained. "The mineral on this bracelet can correspond to water, fire, wood, earth, and light senses. The light intermediary mineral is something I added myself. The other four are beginner-level intermediaries."

He directly removed the bracelet from his wrist and tossed it to Mithra. "This is the basic intermediary that Sanctuary provides to every believer. Take a look if you're interested."

Mithra caught it, but instead of rushing to examine the bracelet, she said, "So I should mainly learn miracles in Self and Ki?"

"Yes, it's natural for newcomers to look for the easier path. And Ki aside, Self's basic miracles are mandatory. You can't escape them."

"Like what?" After all this talk, it was finally time for the real learning part, and Mithra's heart quickened.

" "Reinforce Body" and "Stabilize" "

Safin said, "Reinforce Body can use sense to strengthen the body, allowing people to escape their weakened state, and even continuously improve, reaching a level that can match that of beasts. And Stabilize can help to eliminate external interference, stabilize the mind, increase mental resilience, and even sharpen your sense."

Mithra quickly caught the key point.

"Can Stabilize reduce pain?" She asked hastily.

Safin looked a bit strange, but he still answered, "No, Stabilize isn't a numbing agent. But it can definitely increase your tolerance to pain. After all, that can be considered external interference."

"Please, definitely teach me that!" Mithra was very serious.

"Uh, yeah, I said it's a mandatory subject."

"Please, I absolutely must learn Stabilize, teach me well." Mithra said solemnly.

Safin was a bit stunned. He paused for a moment. "... I'll try my best."