The Whispering Verses Chapter 22: Elements, bells, ignition, promotion, hymns
"Employed now?"
Hearing the doctor's words, Shade suddenly became nervous. He didn't expect to be so direct:
"Here...?"
"Of course, is there something wrong with the doctor's office? And isn't the 72 hours coming up?"
The blond writer Miss Louisa didn't know why, but Dr. Schneider understood what Shade wanted to express:
"Of course it is here, oh, Shade, let me emphasize it again.
Remember, we are correspondence sorcerers. There is actually no special emotional connection between St. Byrons Comprehensive College and us, only responsibilities and obligations. Do you understand? As for helping you, that's because I need a fifth ring sorcerer in the group, and the academy will give rewards to new ring sorcerers who are introduced to the school. Not because I'm a good Samaritan. ”
The doctor looked at Shade seriously, with a warning in his blue eyes:
"You have no common sense about this world, so I give you the most important warning: don't trust others easily."
"He is actually a good person, but he is always so strict."
The lady on the side shook her head and said.
Shad nodded cautiously, but he also agreed with Miss Writer's opinion that Dr. Schneider is a good person...at least for now.
"Lucasa, you just need to observe the next process to prevent unexpected surprises in the process, please don't say anything."
"No problem, we have already gone through this step twice. Wasn't it the same when Anat and August took office?"
The writer lady said, motioning for Shade to pay attention.
“To awaken the life circle, a gifted person first needs to be exposed to four elements, which is difficult for ordinary people who know nothing about it.
This is the Sixth Age, not the dark and chaotic Fourth Age, nor the Fifth Age ruled by the Witch Emperors. In this era where the extraordinary is invisible, steam and machinery are the themes, and there is not so much mystery here. Even if one knows that mystery exists, it is difficult to come into contact with it. Moreover, the dangers of contact with the mysterious are beyond the imagination of ordinary people. ”
The doctor held out four fingers:
"So Xia De, how many of the four elements have you been exposed to so far?"
"The only thing missing is [blasphemy] related to the evil god."
Shade told the truth, Dr. Schneider did not ask any more questions:
"Look at my life ring."
Three silver runes flashed at the same time, and Shade interpreted their meanings as [wrath] [silt in the heart] [malice].
[You have been exposed to ‘blasphemy’. 】
Following this sentence, another paragraph was murmured:
[Sixth Epoch, Universal Calendar 1853, summer, when the silver moon shines darkly, you came into contact with all four elements. Foreigners, the door to transcendence is about to open, and the road to sublimation is ahead. 】
"Did the 'other you' give any hints?"
The doctor let the life ring behind him dissipate in the steam, and then asked.
"Yes, it gave me a hint. It reminded me that I have come into contact with all the elements, and the door to the extraordinary is about to open."
The doctor nodded with satisfaction:
"The other self is the core of the Ring Warlock system. That is the back of your soul, it is you, but it is not you. He shares knowledge and memories with you. But he can feel and see more, so It can serve as a bridge between the Ring Warlock and the world, preventing us from directly contacting the knowledge and information that will pollute the soul. Now I repeat it, I hope you can remember it. ”
"In other words, it is impossible for another me to know knowledge that I don't know?"
Xia De's heart moved and he asked this question.
The doctor nodded affirmatively, and Shade blinked. He had already guessed that his "other self" was definitely not normal.
"That's actually you, but you don't know it. He is the same gender as you, so the voice in my mind is a man's voice, while the voice in Louisa's mind is a woman's voice..."
The lady on the side nodded in confirmation.
"He has the same memory as you, but he doesn't need sleep, so he may know more things about the night than you do. But essentially, you and the other you just have different ways of thinking and different visions, so sometimes you listen Inexplicably, he can see more from the ordinary world."
The doctor said again, and Shade blinked again.
In his heart, the woman's chuckle seemed to be nourishing his heart, driving away the last bit of influence brought by the poet's relic.
"Who are you?"
He asked in his mind.
[Foreigner, at least for now, I am you. 】
"Collecting elements" is only the first step, after which there are four more steps: "ringing the bell", "igniting the fire", "promoting" and "hymn". The complete five-step process is the most orthodox awakening process for a ring warlock, and is used by the Zhengshen Church and the three major academies.
"Ringing the bell" means shocking the soul and allowing the soul to undergo its initial sublimation. This step sounds complicated, but it’s actually just drinking a magic potion.
The three major thaumaturgy academies and the five righteous churches have different formulas for the "bell-ringing potion." The doctor said that the potion from the Serksess Medical School is said to be the best tasting, with an orange flavor, and is very delicious. Sweet; and the potion of the Church of Nature and Evil Thoughts of the Righteous God [Lord of All Creation] is the most unpleasant to drink, and is a bit like dry chewing of tree bark.
The college sent the "Bell Ringing Potion" directly through the manuscript, a conical glass bottle, purple bubbling potion. It feels cold to the touch, but warms when you drink it.
But Shade didn't think he tasted anything.
"Look behind you."
The doctor reminded.
Xia De swallowed the last sip, wiped the corners of his mouth, put down the bottle, and turned around. A layer of white mist had risen behind him, and he could vaguely hear the ringing of a bell in his ears, but it was not clear.
He did feel the so-called vibration of the soul, but it might also be a stomach hallucination caused by drinking too fast.
"Ignition" refers to igniting the four collected elements to ignite the initial soul spark. This step only requires the assistance of a ring warlock of level three or above and some skills. The doctor pointed his right index finger on Shade's eyebrows. When some cold air slowly entered Shade's body, the ringing in his ears became clearer.
He turned his head, and the thick white mist behind him gained a scorching temperature, the steam became deeper, and the steam seemed to contain countless possibilities.
"Pushing" refers to allowing the soul to drive the ignited weak spark, allowing the ring wizard to perceive the spirit and have the ability to manipulate the four elements. Specifically, this requires Shade to feel power, to feel the idealistic power of mind affecting matter.
So Dr. Schneider brought a book without a cover:
"For ring warlocks, there are many ways to contact the four elements. However, the method of inscribing [Spirit Runes] into one's life ring does not encourage contact with gods, mystery, and weirdness. Although this is possible, it is Quite dangerous. The orthodox way of training is to read books and read stories from the past. ~IndoMTL.com~ This reminds Shade again that the extraordinary organization he joined is a school.
"Yes, churches, academies, and a few organizations of ring magicians have some special collections of books that record quite dangerous knowledge and stories from past eras. Those books are copied by hand and translated from dangerous ancient languages into contemporary languages. Its power will be weakened. Therefore, reading forbidden books that are original or have only been copied or translated once is the best way for a ring magician to engrave spiritual runes, and for you, this is enough to make you feel your own power."
He handed the book to Shade:
"This is a handwritten copy of the first volume of "The Book of Fire Worship", and it is a version that has been copied by hand at least six times from the original version. It is the least dangerous book in my hands. There is no way I can pass this book by reading it. Get the spiritual rune. Read it in half an hour. If you don’t understand the words, you can ask me.”
So Xia De spent another half an hour reading, equating his future progress on the extraordinary path with reading and studying. He had to disguise his current identity, so he could only select a few words to ask after a while.
During this period, both the doctor and the writer kept quiet enough, knowing that this was an important moment for Shade.
"Have you finished reading? How do you feel?"
The doctor asked.
"A little hot."
Xia De put down the book and answered cautiously.
"Light it up."
The doctor gave Shade another piece of paper. Shade held it and waited for a few seconds. After finding that the doctor had no other words, he asked:
"Well, did you skip some steps...such as a spell or a gesture."
"Don't understand, feel, and guide this power. Unless your core spiritual rune is a concept like [extinguished fire], this is not a problem."
So Shade closed his eyes. He came from another world. Although there was no transcendence, he had more knowledge and fantasy. Close your eyes, relax, and imagine that the warmth in your body flows with your perception, eventually reaching your fingertips and sparking out.
When I opened my eyes, the paper between my fingers had turned yellow due to the high temperature.
A huge roar came from the steam behind him, and the black shadow represented the hammer head that was about to bombard Shade's soul.
"The last step is the hymn. You have to admit your identity and announce to the world that you are beyond the ordinary."
The doctor's tone became serious at this moment.
"How to do this?"
Xia De was puzzled. His heart was beating loudly. He understood that he was about to truly come into contact with the extraordinary and approach the mysterious realm of the steam age.
"Just say something. I read my name, Louisa recited a famous poem, Mr. Rat Augustus prayed to God, and Luvia... Miss Anat read silently, so we don’t know.”
For Shade at this moment, the doctor's words seemed to be coming from an extremely distant place. He looked behind him in the thick white steam, looking at the hammerhead that was about to be shot down behind the thick fog.
A woman's voice, reciting murmuring poetry, sounded again.
As a result, Shade almost synchronized with the murmuring voice of the woman in his heart and silently recited the declaration:
[Sixth Epoch, Universal Calendar 1853, summer, when the silver moon shines darkly, I came to this world. I opened the door to the extraordinary and embarked on the road of sublimation of the four elements. Shade Suellen Hamilton, the road of destiny forks at my feet, I will witness, I will experience, I will see it all. 】
The giant hammer carried huge wind pressure and swung out from the depths of the steam, hitting Shade behind in the strong wind.
Boom~
The soul is impacted, sparks fly, aura flashes, and elements overflow. In the wildly spraying white steam mist, the brass-colored ring with a strange luster, like the sun, gradually became clear.
It rotated and sputtered sparks in all directions. The brass ring appeared completely in the steam mist with high temperature, and the life ring was suspended behind it.
In the center of the high-speed rotating ring, two brass-colored, shining core runes symbolize Shade's next fate-
[Time and Space][Silver Moon].