Chapter 308

It turned out that, when it came to bards, Li En's talent was practically zero.

Generally speaking, becoming a bard requires training in a series of skills including singing and poetry, and after becoming a bard, one's voice undergoes a "qualitative transformation."

"Sound—or vibration, or echo—is the source of a bard's power. With your tone-deafness and pitch inaccuracies, you could never become a bard from the start."

Only after truly encountering this supernatural profession did Li En realize the minimum Soul Synchronization Rate had a reason: even with the Hero Soul's enhancement, he had absolutely no talent in this area.

"Even spellcasting relies on the power of 'echo'? That makes no sense at all—why should playing an instrument or singing summon supernatural power?"

Bards are spellcasters too, but unlike sorcerers who draw on bloodline, wizards who rely on knowledge, or warlocks who borrow power, their spellcasting is profoundly "illogical."

Though they possess a slight amount of magic, it is extremely thin and utterly insufficient to sustain High-Hour spells.

In their own understanding, their spellcasting depends on an "echo," a rule rooted in the world's fundamental layer.

In their own view, at the world's creation, countless natural phenomena and supernatural rules existed; bards merely attempt to "reproduce" them, simulating spell effects through the "echoes" of those natural phenomena.

"This magic? It's not magic at all!"

Li En couldn't understand it, but he was deeply shaken—how could they summon supernatural power with so little magic, just by singing strange melodies and uttering odd syllables?

"Hmm, this sounds oddly similar to Dragon Tongue magic…"

Li En fell into deep thought; he simply could not comprehend this logic.

Why could bards, with no Dragon Vein or supernatural bloodline, summon magical effects merely by hitting specific tones with a trace of magic?

"Who decided this? That doesn't make sense."

Could there, in some hidden way, truly be a "server" that delivers results when specific codes are input? Then wouldn't the wizard's lifelong study be utterly absurd?

"Stop researching—it won't yield anything. The fact is, they can cast spells, and that's enough."

Why bards' songs work, why they possess spellcasting ability—so many spellcasters have studied this, spawning numerous theories and academic schools; even many great wizards tried becoming bards themselves. But they all ruined themselves without ever finding the reason.

As long as it works, that's all that matters.

But Li En couldn't do it—that was a fundamental difference in talent; this was not a path he could walk. Perhaps this was also the root reason why this "Reincarnation Card" should never have been in the pool.

"Looks like I messed up."

Li En said calmly; he had finally understood why he couldn't resonate with this Hero Soul—some Hero Souls were simply too incompatible from the start, and this one had endured too much longevity.

That might mean the changes wrought by the River of Time, or that its personality was no longer human.

Li En tried to follow this deity's doctrine, using the newly acquired cantrips and circus tricks to bring laughter to children and audiences.

To his surprise, he was quite good at it—each performance drew crowds and generous tips—but the "god" gave no response.

He tried reenacting the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" legacy, playing cards and chess with others, yet still received no response.

He performed good deeds, fulfilling the doctrine of "one good deed per day," yet still received no feedback—as if the god didn't exist at all.

But Li En knew something was watching him, waiting for him.

"I have no idea what it wants."

Watching the countdown of his possession time, Li En felt an inexplicable calmness—as if he could accept missing this opportunity. He realized: perhaps this "detachment" was the true essence of this Hero Soul.

"Appetite, drive, even the desire to fight—all are clearly declining." Li En didn't know whether this was a common ailment of long-lived beings or a unique trait of this Hero Soul.

In result, he felt his emotions thinning, becoming overly calm—but he developed a stronger craving and curiosity for "knowledge" and "memory."

He simply wanted to silently observe this city, perceiving everything happening within it.

Li En faintly sensed that perhaps this Hero Soul was observing this era through his eyes—he seemed to have no intention of interfering, only watching in silence.

"Tch, just watching a show? Hero Soul, do you really want nothing at all?"

Li En tried researching this Hero Soul's past record, attempting to reconstruct his desires—but the information gaps were vast, and all his blind trials failed outright.