Chapter 22: Element, Bell, Ignition, Propulsion, Hymn

"Take office now?"

Hearing the doctor's words, Xia De suddenly became nervous. He didn't expect it to be so direct:

"In... here?"

"Of course, is there a problem with the doctor's clinic? And isn't the 72-hour limit about to be reached?"

The blonde writer Miss Louisa didn't understand, but Dr. Shi Nai De understood what Xia De wanted to express:

"Of course it's here. Oh, Xia De, I emphasize one point again."

"Remember, we are correspondence Ringed Shushi. St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy and us actually don't have any special emotional connection, only responsibilities and obligations, do you understand? As for helping you, that's because I need a fifth Ringed Shushi in the group, and introducing a new Ringed Shushi to enroll will give the Academy rewards. It's not because I am a kind person."

The doctor looked at Xia De seriously, and his blue eyes contained a warning:

"You don't have any common sense about this world, so I give you the most important warning: don't easily trust others."

"He is actually a good person, but he is always so strict."

The lady on the side shook her head and said.

Xia De nodded cautiously, but he also agreed with the writer lady's view; Dr. Shi Nai De was a good person... at least for now.

"Louisa, for the next process, you only need to observe and prevent unexpected accidents in the process. Please don't speak."

"No problem, we have already experienced this step twice. Wasn't it the same when Annat and Priest Ao Gu Si took office?"

The writer lady said, signaling Xia De to listen carefully.

"A talented individual awakening the destiny ring first needs to come into contact with four elements, which is very difficult for an ordinary person who knows nothing."

"Now is the Sixth Era, not the Fourth Era of darkness and chaos, not the Fifth Era ruled by witch emperors. In this era where the supernatural is not obvious, steam and machinery are the themes; there is not so much mystery here. Even if you know that mystery exists, it is very difficult to come into contact with mystery. Moreover, the danger of coming into contact with mystery is something ordinary people cannot imagine."

The doctor stretched out four fingers:

"Then Xia De, among the four elements, how many have you come into contact with so far?"

"Only 【Profanity】 related to Evil Gods is missing."

Xia De told the truth, and Dr. Shi Nai De didn't ask much:

"Look at my destiny ring."

Three silver runes flickered at the same time, and Xia De interpreted their meanings as 【Rage】, 【Mud in the Heart】, 【Malice】.

【You have come into contact with 'Profanity'.】

Following this sentence, the whispering voice read out another paragraph:

【Sixth Era, Common Calendar 1853, Summer, Day of the Dark Silver Moon, you have come into contact with all four elements. Outsider, the door of the supernatural is about to open, and the path of sublimation is ahead.】

"Did the 'other you' give a hint?"

The doctor let the destiny ring behind him dissipate in the steam, and then asked.

"Yes, it gave me a hint, prompting me that I have come into contact with all elements and the door of the supernatural is about to open."

The doctor nodded with satisfaction:

"The other me is the core of the Ringed Shushi system. That is the back of your soul; it is you, but it is not you. It shares knowledge and memories with you. But it can feel and see more, so it can act as a bridge between the Ringed Shushi and the world, avoiding us directly coming into contact with those knowledge and information that will pollute the soul. Now I repeat it again, I hope you can keep it in mind."

"In other words, the other me cannot know knowledge that I don't know?"

Xia De's heart moved, and he asked this question.

The doctor nodded affirmatively. Xia De blinked; he had long guessed that his "other me" was absolutely abnormal.

"That is actually you, but you don't know. It is the same gender as you, so the voice in my brain is a man's voice, and the voice in Louisa's brain is a woman's voice..."

The lady on the side nodded to confirm.

"It has the same memory as you, but it doesn't need sleep, so maybe it knows more about things at night than you do. But essentially speaking, you and the other you just have different ways of thinking and different visions, so sometimes you will hear inexplicable words, and it can see more from the ordinary world."

The doctor said again, and Xia De blinked again.

In his heart, the woman's light laughter seemed to be moisturizing his heart, driving away the last bit of influence brought by the Poet-level relic.

"Who exactly are you?"

He asked in his heart.

【Outsider, at least for now, I am you.】

"Collecting elements" is only the first step, and then "Bell," "Ignition," "Propulsion," and "Hymn" are needed. The complete five steps are the most orthodox Ringed Shushi awakening process, used by both the Orthodox Churches and the three major academies.

"Bell" refers to shocking the soul, allowing the soul to undergo its initial sublimation. This step sounds complicated, but it is actually just drinking a potion.

The three major wonder academies and the five Orthodox Churches have different formulas for the "Bell Potion." The doctor said that the potion of Cerces Higher Medical Academy is said to be the best to drink, it is orange-flavored and very sweet; while the potion of the 【Church of Nature and Malice】 of the Orthodox God 【Lord of All Things】 is the most difficult to drink, a bit like chewing tree bark.

The Academy sent the "Bell Potion" directly through the manuscript, a conical glass bottle with purple bubbling potion. It felt a bit cold to the touch, but it was very warm to drink.

But Xia De thought he didn't taste any flavor.

"Look behind you."

The doctor reminded.

Xia De swallowed the last mouthful, wiped the corners of his mouth, put down the bottle, and turned around. A layer of white fog had risen behind him, and he vaguely heard the sound of a bell in his ears, but it was not clear.

He did feel the vibration of the so-called soul, but that might also be an illusion of the stomach caused by drinking too fast.

"Ignition" refers to igniting the four elements collected, making the initial soul spark ignite. This step only requires the assistance of a Ringed Shushi above the Third Ring and some techniques. The doctor pointed his right index finger at Xia De's brow, and when some cold air currents slowly entered Xia De's body, the bell sound in his ears became clearer.

He turned his head, and the thick white fog behind him had a scorching temperature, and the steam became profound, as if containing countless possibilities within it.

"Propulsion" refers to letting the soul drive the weak spark that has been ignited, making the Ringed Shushi perceive the spirit and have the ability to manipulate the four elements. Specifically, this requires Xia De to feel the power, to feel the idealistic power of the mind influencing matter.

So Dr. Shi Nai De brought a book without a cover:

"For Ringed Shushi, multiple ways can come into contact with the four elements. But the way of engraving 【Spirit Runes】 into one's own destiny ring does not encourage coming into contact with gods, coming into contact with mystery, or coming into contact with strangeness. Although this can also work, it is quite dangerous. The orthodox training method is reading books, reading stories of the past, and other ways can be treated as relying on luck."

"Reading books?"

This reminded Xia De again that the supernatural organization he joined was a school.

"Yes, the Church, the Academy, and a few Ringed Shushi organizations collect some special books, recording quite dangerous knowledge and stories of past eras. Those books are copied by hand, translated from dangerous ancient languages into contemporary languages, and their power will be weakened. Therefore, reading those original versions or forbidden books that have only been copied or translated once is the best way for Ringed Shushi to engrave spirit runes. And for you, this is enough to make you feel your own power."

He handed the book to Xia De:

"This is a handwritten copy of the first volume of 'Book of Fire Worship', and it is a version that has been copied at least six times from the original version. It is the book with the lowest danger in my hand; it is impossible to obtain a spirit rune by reading this book. You read it completely in half an hour, and you can ask me about words you don't understand."

So Xia De spent another half hour reading the book, equating the progress of his supernatural path in the future with reading and learning in his heart. He had to disguise his current identity, so he could only pick a few words to ask after a period of time.

During this period, the doctor and the writer lady kept enough quiet; they knew this was an important moment for Xia De.

"Finished reading? What's the feeling?"

The doctor asked.

"A bit hot."

Xia De put down the book and answered cautiously.

"Ignite it."

The doctor gave Xia De another piece of paper. Xia De held it and waited for a few seconds, finding that the doctor had no other words, before asking:

"Hmm, did I skip any steps... like incantations or gestures."

"Don't understand, feel it, guide this power. Unless your core spirit rune is a concept like 【Extinguished Fire】, this is not a problem."

So Xia De closed his eyes. He came from another world. Although there was no supernatural, he had more knowledge and fantasy. Closing his eyes and relaxing himself, he imagined the warm current in his body flowing with perception, finally reaching his fingertips and then shooting sparks.

Opening his eyes, the paper between his fingers had withered 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 hit Xia De's soul.

"The last step is the hymn; you have to acknowledge your identity and announce to the world that you have transcended the mundane."

The doctor's tone became serious at this moment.

"How to do this?"

Xia De didn't understand. His heart was beating fast. He understood that he was about to truly come into contact with the supernatural and walk into the mysterious field belonging to the steam era.

"Say something casually. I just recited my name at that time, Louisa recited a famous little poem, Mr. Rat Priest Ao Gu Si prayed to the gods, and Miss Luweiya Annat recited silently, so we don't know."

For Xia De at this moment, the doctor's words seemed to come from a very distant place. He looked at the thick white steam behind him, looking at the hammer head about to strike down behind the thick fog.

The woman's voice, the voice of reciting the whispering poem, sounded again.

So, Xia De was almost synchronized with the whispering voice of the woman in his heart, and recited that declaration silently:

【Sixth Era, Common Calendar 1853, Summer, Day of the Dark Silver Moon, I came to this world, I pushed open the door of the supernatural, and stepped on the path of sublimation of the four elements. Xia De Su Lun Hamilton, the path of destiny diverges under my feet, I will witness, I will experience, I will see all of this.】

The giant hammer carried huge wind pressure and swung out from the depths of the steam, striking behind Xia De in the strong wind.

Boom~

The soul was impacted, sparks splashed, spiritual light flickered, and elements overflowed. In that wildly spraying white steam fog, a brass-colored ring with strange luster, like the sun, gradually became clear.

It rotated and splashed sparks in all directions, and the brass ring body appeared completely in the steam fog with high temperature, and the destiny ring floated behind him.

In the center of the high-speed rotating ring, two brass-colored, shining core runes symbolized Xia De's subsequent destiny—

【Time-Space】 【Silver Moon】. ===== CHAPTER 23 =====