Chapter 315: Fortune and Misfortune
Ace opened his eyes. The Heart Fire within the Soul Sanctuary space had reduced to a low power output of 19%. In this state, not only did it consume very little Blood Qi and Mana, but it also refined the Blood Qi and Mana into a purer essence. This refined Mana and Blood Qi would, in turn, nourish Ace’s body and soul.
In the blink of an eye, a month passed. Ace’s one month of meditation was equivalent to the results of more than a year in the past. His soul strength reached 91 unit, and his physical strength reached 82 unit.
“At this efficiency, in just one year, I can reach the critical point of Level 1 Life and touch the domain of a Great Hero!”
Ace’s eyes shone with a sharp light. It was now the spring of Magic Year 15. If successful, it meant he would become a Level 2 Life before the age of 35.
Even among God-descendants, except for a lucky few favored by gods or close in bloodline, most Heroes could only accumulate enough power to become Great Heroes after turning one hundred.
To Ace’s knowledge, Arnold, the Grear Hero of the Medimus City-State, only achieved the status of Great Hero at the age of one hundred and thirty, while Karim, the leader of the Punishers in the Milne City-State, became a Great Hero at one hundred and fifty.
According to what Ace read in the Medimus Royal Library, achieving Great Hero status before fifty offered hope of going further, known as a “Legend Seed,” whereas it became very difficult to reach Legendary status after fifty.
Ace’s path was different from that of the God-descendants. He had the embryonic form of a Mental Image at the Level 0 Life stage, and confirmed his path at the Level 1 Life stage, possessing his own embryonic Mental Imagery World. This meant he could reach the peak of Level 2, the so-called Golden Hero level, without obstacles.
“Golden Hero is the peak state of a Great Hero. From the peak of the flesh, a spiritual barrier is sublimated, birthing a Mental Imagery World.
“And I already possess the embryonic form of a Mental Imagery World. All I need to do is bring my body and soul to their peak during the Level 2 Life stage; I don’t need to figure out how to birth a Mental Imagery World!”
A smile appeared at the corner of Ace’s mouth. Possessing a Soul Sanctuary meant that as long as a Wizard reached the Level 2 Life stage, they could march forward courageously to the peak of Level 2 Life!
“Arrogance? Our path, the path of the Wizard, is sufficient to be proud of, and we should be proud!”
As he spoke, Ace stood up to grab a glass of water. Crash!
He actually failed to hold the cup steady. The exquisite glazed glass fell to the floor, shattering into pieces.
Ace’s heart palpitated, and a chill ran down his spine uncontrollably.
“What happened? With my control over my body, this shouldn’t happen.”
This feeling was too strange, as if something bad was about to happen.
“Perhaps I should use astrological divination to prophecy?”
Ace was hesitant. Bayen had proposed the astrological prophecy series of spells by studying the mysterious dice and celestial bodies. The reason he left the High Tower to go to the Old Continent was also due to the guidance of the stars.
Ace had been half-believing regarding this academic faction. Although its fundamental principles couldn’t be fully explained, this school of magic was sometimes very effective.
In short-term combat, the Divination Spell could predict hostility, an enemy’s attack trajectory for a future period, or even danger. Ace had some understanding of intuitive spells, and he felt his current state was like some kind of intuitive warning.
“I cannot ignore it!”
Ace looked at the broken glazed glass, paced back and forth, and finally decided to go to the High Tower outside the city to find Taruna, the witch most skilled in divination within the territory.
High Tower, Astrology Floor.
From the floor to the walls and up to the ceiling, everything was covered in dreamlike astrological images, carrying a scent of mystery.
News of Ace’s arrival had already spread, and Wizard Apprentices came to welcome him one after another. Ace waved his hand and went straight to find the Advanced Wizard Apprentice, Taruna.
The two spoke in secret in the divination room for a long time before Ace left.
Back in the Magic Castle West Tower, Ace did not have Taruna cast the spell directly. Instead, after learning the relevant knowledge from Taruna, he attempted the divination himself.
“Based on the Astral Projection Hypothesis, utilizing Runes parsed from the Anazir Dice, and aided by Level 1 Divination Runes to detect fortune and misfortune. Three results can be obtained: Auspicious, Ominous, and Void.”
Ace followed the methods of the Astrological Prophecy School, combined with his own knowledge, and made appropriate modifications.
The key to the modification was calculus. Using this method, he performed more precise calculations on the various “celestial bodies” within the Main Material Plane and the planes on the outside. Although he didn’t derive an absolutely concise formula, significant progress had been made.
In Ace’s True-Illusion Dream world, “celestial bodies” appeared one by one. The sky of the dream world began to fill with stars. Ace’s True Spirit actually began to “sweat”—a sign of rapid consumption of the True Spirit.
The reason the True Spirit was consumed so rapidly was that Ace was attempting to project the stars of the Main Material Plane’s sky into the True-Illusion Dream.
Ace’s True Spirit pushed the Astral Projection Meditation Method to its limit, projecting the special Mana of the stars into the dream world’s starry sky. Although extremely rough, Ace barely managed to replicate and project the stars of the Main Material Plane.
“I declare,” the True Spirit stood in the center of the True-Illusion Dream, surrounded by the sun, moon, and stars.
“The sun, moon, and stars of the Main Material Plane all have correspondences in the Dream World. The stars of the Dream World shall be the reliance for divination and prophecy.”
Following the words of Ace’s True Spirit, the stars within the entire dream world rotated constantly, seeking their corresponding positions in the Main Material Plane. Level 1 Divination Runes were replicated and integrated into the starry sky one by one. Astrological Runes sensed the stars of the Main Material Plane and were born from the void.
True Spirit Ace was shrouded in brilliant starlight, shining radiantly. At this moment, Ace heard a certain call. It seemed as if the World Mother was stroking his cheek with warm hands, whispering in his ear.
“Outside, Great Fortune; Inside, Great Misfortune.”
Ace opened his eyes abruptly, as if waking from a dream, his body soaked. The ethereal whisper still lingered in his ears, and the palpitations in his heart constantly reminded him that he must go to the Outside of the World.
“Since I chose divination, I will proceed according to the direction of the divination. I must go to the Outside of the World, to the Pocket World, and advance to Level 2 Life as soon as possible.”
On the other side, Carlo’s True Spirit was already hollow, replaced by Pain Fire. His face was extremely twisted, yet extremely delighted.
In the dim room, his shadow gradually stood up. The pitch-black shadow revealed a hollow smile, slowly taking on the appearance of Ambrio.
“Truly a masterpiece. In just over a decade, eight existences comparable to Heroes were born, along with over a hundred figures with Quasi-Hero strength. If given a bit more time, would you birth big shots comparable to Great Heroes?
“Its a pitu you were discovered by me. Time is no longer on your side. Nipping hope in the bud and ushering in the pain of despair is the greatest favor of Pain.”
Ambrio transformed into a Shadow Raven. Without alerting anyone, he flew out of the High Tower Territory silently, hovered over a hill, and then reverted to himself.
Wearing a tall hood and a gray-gold robe, he gently removed the Pain Mask, revealing a pitch-black, hollow face. He bowed politely, like a curtain call in a stage play, elegant and composed.
(End of this chapter)
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