Chapter 62: Description (Seeking monthly votes)

Regarding the lady's explanation before him, the more Lu Mian listened, the more he agreed:

He did not know what kind of performance higher sequences would have, but just looking at the few supernatural creatures he had "dealt" with, the guy with the vortex-shaped mouthparts posed far less of a threat to him than the monster carrying a hunting rifle.

Although this was partly because he had become a Beyonder and had gained significant improvements in close-quarters combat and utilizing the environment, it was more due to the problems of the contracted monster itself.

First, it did not display strong pursuit capabilities; second, it lacked long-range attack methods; third, its "invisibility" ability was not outrageous, and it was completely countered by a "Hunter's" grasp of the surrounding environment and subtle traces.

Additionally, it had the common flaw of monsters: its intelligence was not high, and unlike the hunting rifle monster, it was not rich in combat wisdom, simply stepping into the enemy's trap.

With these combined, the final result was predictable, to the point that until today, Lu Mian had never thought it was actually equivalent to a Sequence 7.

He hadn't even compared it with the hunting rifle monster, believing the gap between them was huge—the hunting rifle monster was strong, the mouthpart monster was weak.

Abilities, brains, preparation, on-the-spot adaptability, environmental factors... there were too many things that could influence the outcome of a battle... Lu Mian summarized in his heart, and asked with great anticipation yet without much hope:

"Can I directly pray for the power of the 'Contracted Person'?"

That lady smiled:

"That is a very good method of suicide."

She explained casually:

"Theoretically, it is indeed possible; after all, the power sealed within your body is more than just equivalent to a Sequence 7."

"But do you think your body can withstand such a massive 'Gift' all at once, or rather, the corruption?"

"Of course, if you feel that becoming a monster, becoming a puppet of that existence, or alienating into another kind of creature is not unacceptable, then you can also consider trying."

"Tsk, in that case, it won't be long before I should be able to appreciate you personally turning your sister into a sacrificial offering."

Lu Mian felt his hair stand on end and his spine turn cold from the lady's words, not daring to think about "advancing across sequences" anymore.

He asked cautiously:

"In other words, the maximum Gift I can withstand right now is 'Dancer'?"

"Correct, this is also the reason why I only told you about this matter after you became a Beyonder and initially digested it." That lady took another small sip of the green liquid in her cup. "Only when your own spirit, spirituality, and body have all improved significantly do you have hope of resisting the corruption that comes with the 'Gift', and then slowly control that power."

"As time passes, your spirit body and mind body further strengthen, and your body adapts to the slight changes brought by the Gift's power, then you can consider 'Ascetic'."

For Lu Mian, the most important thing right now was to learn that kind of mysterious dance, to be able to autonomously not fully trigger the thorn symbol, thereby greatly improving his ability to explore the dream ruins. Therefore, he stopped thinking about "Ascetic" and "Contracted Person," nodded lightly, and asked seriously:

"Then how should I pray?"

He had already learned the binary ritual method, but the honorific name of the prayer target, the domain it belonged to, and the corresponding materials were all still a blank slate.

"Cough." That lady couldn't help but cough once.

Then, she said seriously:

"What I say next, out of my mouth and into your ears, must not be told to anyone, otherwise it will harm them."

Out of my mouth and into your ears... this is a sentence Aurora likes to write very much... Has this lady read one of her novels? Lu Mian responded solemnly:

"Okay."

He thought for a moment and added:

"I don't need to worry about having problems after hearing it?"

That lady sipped the absinthe, smiled slightly, and said:

"When did you get the illusion that you didn't have problems yourself?"

Lu Mian was startled for a moment, then lowered his head to look at his left chest.

That lady immediately sneered:

"You originally belonged to someone about to be severely corrupted. Fortunately, the mark left by that great existence was triggered, and the corresponding power descended upon you, sealing the source of corruption and forming a balance."

"And next, you will hold a ritual, face the power within the seal directly, and pray for the corresponding Gift, which is equivalent to actively bearing corruption within a certain degree."

"So, what are you still afraid of regarding having a small problem after hearing it?"

Why do I feel the problem is getting bigger the more I listen... Lu Mian didn't have much confidence.

That lady shook her head and smiled:

"Don't worry, when I tell you the corresponding words, I will definitely provide a sufficiently secretive environment and very safe protection. Afterward, if you want to hold the ritual, it is best to go to the ruins; there is gray fog there, and the protection of a great existence, so it won't directly attract that existence's gaze."

"And during the time before holding the ritual, you should scramble every link and every sentence of the description to consolidate them, trying your best not to put them together and think about them completely; otherwise, heh..."

She laughed once, not saying the result, but Lu Mian could imagine what kind of problems would arise.

Seeing that he no longer asked, that lady nodded slightly:

"Let's begin."

"The first part is 'Power of Fate'."

"Using it is enough; it corresponds to that black thorn symbol of yours. The complete name of that existence is not something you can understand right now; even for me, I must prepare secrecy before I dare to think about it."

For some reason, Lu Mian felt the surrounding light dim a little, but he wasn't quite sure.

At this moment, that lady restrained all her expressions and said seriously:

"The second part is:"

"You are the past, you are the present, and you are also the future;"

"You are the cause, you are the result, and you are also the process..."

As the words were spat out one by one from that lady's mouth, Lu Mian's head actually felt dizzy, and he discovered that there seemed to be black wind circling around.

And the table where his cup of absinthe was placed, the brown surface began to squirm as if it had life.

*Pop. *

A black worm, the length of an adult's index finger, drilled out from inside the wooden board, and an evil aura instantly permeated outward.

Before Lu Mian had time to see the appearance of that black worm clearly, the cup containing the green liquid in the lady's hand opposite him was put down, directly pressing onto that strange creature, crushing it into a puddle of meat paste.

Following that, that lady took out a patterned napkin, wiped the bottom of the cup, and wrapped up the corpse of that black worm.

She drank another small sip of absinthe as if nothing had happened, and emphasized:

"Remember, the first part and the second part must be chanted in Ancient Hermes; Giant language, Dragon language, and Elvish language also work."

Just like the first "I" in the ritual of praying to oneself cannot be in Hermes... Lu Mian nodded, indicating he understood.

He had always been very bold, but facing the strange phenomena that appeared frequently during the conversation, he was still somewhat panicked and uneasy, his heartbeat quickening. However, that mysterious lady acted as if she had just discovered some impurities while dining, and she continued:

"The third part can be in Hermes, and the content is:"

"I pray to you,"

"I pray for you to grant a Gift,"

"I pray for you to grant me the power of 'Dancer'."

"Remember, the three sentences have a progressive relationship."

These words did not bring about new environmental changes, and the anomalies that were originally unsettling and panic-inducing gradually subsided.

Lu Mian remembered them earnestly, and according to that lady's instructions, scrambled the order and reversed the front and back to remember them, to avoid any problems.

That lady drank the remaining absinthe, tasted it with satisfaction, and said:

"The rest is about the same as common ritual magic."

"The corresponding materials are gray amber, tulips, cloves, and musk. You choose two to make into candles, and use the remaining two as herbs, essential oils, or hydrosols in the ritual."

Lu Mian recalled the binary ritual method he had learned, frowned, and asked:

"The position representing the deity should be placed with items closely related to the deity, but my thorn symbol is on my chest; I can't just peel off my skin, right? Besides, I don't think peeling it off would be useful anyway."

That power was sealed within his heart and spirit body.

That lady nodded lightly:

"Didn't I tell you to make candles?"

"When making the candles, take 5 milliliters of blood from your chest—a little more or less is fine—anyway, melt it into the materials and make it part of the candle."

"In the ritual, that candle is placed at the deity's position, only one."

"Because it has your blood, after the candle is 'awakened' by Ancient Hermes and becomes a symbol, it will point directly to you, and then, combined with the subsequent description, it will trigger the power sealed on your body within a certain degree."

It feels like a special variant of the binary ritual method; Aurora never mentioned it could be done this way. Not many people should know about it... Lu Mian pondered for a moment and said:

"Can perfume with gray amber ingredients be used?"

He remembered his sister had some, and she liked to use ambergris to refer to gray amber.

"Yes, use it as essential oil." That lady nodded.

In that case, the gray amber is found, and there are cloves at home... Lu Mian began to think about where to obtain tulips and musk.

He thought and thought, only thinking of three places where they might be:

One is at his sister Aurora's place—she is a "Wizard" and might have prepared the corresponding materials; the second is the Administrator's residence; the third is the parish priest's house.

Lu Mian decided to first tell his sister about holding such a ritual, ask her to teach him the corresponding Ancient Hermes and Hermes words for those descriptions broken down into single words, and ask if she had those materials.

If not, then consider other places.

Seeing that the lady had already assumed a posture of preparing to leave, Lu Mian hurriedly asked another question:

"What exactly is that 'lizard' that drilled out of the parish priest's mouth?"

That lady smiled while standing up:

"I can't explain it clearly to you."

You might as well just say you don't want to tell me... Lu Mian managed to control the change in his expression with great difficulty.

After that lady left, he took out the paper and pen he had brought, recorded the ritual-related information in the wrong order, and then numbered them in the correct order.

After leaving the old tavern, Lu Mian searched for those three outsiders in the village.

Not long after walking, he heard the sound of *ding-ding-dang-dang*.

Lu Mian smiled immediately, walked quickly toward that side, and sure enough, saw Lyra, who had two bells on her veil and two on her boots, saw Ryan, who was wearing a dark round top hat, and saw Valentine, who had powder sprinkled on his head.

He originally wanted to open his arms and shout, "My cabbages, I've missed you to death," but quickly remembered that he hadn't had any contact with those three outsiders in this loop.

Lu Mian hurriedly rubbed his cheeks, making himself look serious.

Then, he walked toward Ryan and the others, and as he was about to pass them, he pressed his voice and said:

"I know who that person you are looking for is."

Ryan, Lyra, and Valentine were all startled, looking at this guy in astonishment.

Lu Mian didn't stop, passed them, and walked toward the front.

The three outsiders looked at each other, restrained the anomaly in their expressions, and followed behind as if nothing had happened.

PS: Seeking monthly votes~

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 63 =====