Chapter 411: Favor
TN: Qi -> Essence
Bayen floated in mid-air above the Lake of Mana. Brilliant star mana surged into his soul from below, cleansing, purifying, and elevating his soul essence.
The vigorous Sea of Blood Essence poured into Bayen’s body from above, consolidating his bodily functions. The two forces slowly brought his body into balance.
Bayen felt the hidden dangers of forcibly elevating his life level melting away bit by bit. His beard and hair changed from snow-white to a salt-and-pepper grey, the wrinkles on his face smoothed out, and his soul gradually became active.
He had a premonition that even if separated from the Demigod’s grace, he could maintain the Level 1 Life state. Ace observed from the side with the Eye of Truth; Bayen’s soul intensity had reached 20 scale units, and his physical intensity also reached about 20 scale units.
“The life state is completely stabilized. Continuing further won’t yield major breakthroughs; we can stop now.”
As Ace’s voice fell, the brilliant star mana and vigorous blood essence gradually returned to their sources. Bayen opened his eyes, pleasantly surprised as he perceived the condition of his body and soul.
Ace considered for a moment, then reached out and summoned a fist-sized piece of void solute. Ace handed the void solute to Bayen.
“This is void solute refined from void creatures. Communicate with it using your soul sanctuary and absorb the void solute into your soul sanctuary.
“It will be slowly absorbed by your soul sanctuary, allowing it to accommodate more root runes and spell models.”
Bayen took the fist-sized void solute Ace handed him, pressed it against his forehead, and slowly closed his eyes.
Bayen calmed his mind to communicate with his Soul Sanctuary, slowly absorbing the void solute into it. The fist-sized void solute disappeared from Bayen’s forehead and appeared in the soul sanctuary, slowly melting.
As the void solute melted, Bayen felt his soul sanctuary seemingly expanding slowly. After a long while, he opened his eyes and bowed deeply to Ace, saying:
“Lord Ace, thank you for your bestowal!”
True Spirit Ace smiled and said to Bayen, “This is nothing. I want to know more about your experiences over these past six or seven years, and that Demigod—how much do you know?”
Bayen looked at Ace, his thoughts returning to the past. The two of them slowly descended from the sky to the lakeside meadow. Aleias walked over gracefully, carrying two jars of fruit wine.
Ace and Bayen each drank a jar. Bayen savored the taste and spoke, “This taste, this vitality… it must be the latest magical fine wine researched by Logan. Seven years ago, I left the High Tower territory…”
Time seemed to return to seven years ago. With inexplicable desolation and indomitable determination, Bayen boarded a brig at Tsmali Port heading for the old continent.
His magical path seemed to have been cut off. Except for the path of the Lich, which he didn’t want to take, there seemed to be no other way.
But Bayen really didn’t want to transform into a Lich. Although he was very old, he still wanted to remain human. The more he learned about the Lich transformation ritual, the more he loathed transforming into a Lich.
“That is the last resort. The existence state of a Lich is too terrifying; it can’t even be called life. Being in a state of death and undeath, losing the physical body, losing the five senses, and even the soul dissipates, leaving only a mutated True Spirit and an inextinguishable soul fire.
“The path of magic certainly attracts me, but unless absolutely necessary, I still want to be a human!”
Bayen breathed the sea breeze, looking at the boundless sea, and murmured.
That boundless ocean was not an ocean in Bayen’s eyes, but hope. They drifted on the ocean for nearly nine months. Entirely relying on the help of merfolk the people on the ship had enough food and fresh water, recognized the correct direction, and finally reached the Old Continent.
Not long after going ashore, Bayen used the Polymorph spell to escape and leave. He traveled everywhere in the Old Continent, used many identities, and finally chose to disguise himself as a doctor, relying on the New Medicine learned from Ace to treat people.
He gradually made a name for himself. The surrounding city-states all knew of a doctor with unique treatment methods. Bayen inevitably faced exclusion. Relying on his tactful handling of affairs and the assistance of magic, he successfully resolved conflicts. Many doctors followed him to learn medical skills, making his fame even greater.
Bayen’s purpose was to use the cover of a doctor to collect the blood of Divine Descendant nobles and monster materials more openly. After all, the former was a formal treatment method, and the latter could be used as medicine.
He indeed achieved some research results and collected quite a few wonders, some even having the magical effect of extending lifespan, but he never found a method to complete his foundation and allow him to advance to Level 1 Life.
Just when Bayen was distressed, he met a special patient. This patient looked very ordinary and didn’t say what illness he had, just asked Bayen to take a look.
Bayen activated Insight Perception, but there was no one in front of him. When he canceled the spell, the person was right there before his eyes.
Fear and uneasiness instantly made Bayen’s hair stand on end. The man opposite him had fair skin, a handsome appearance, and smiled revealing eight teeth, looking at Bayen kindly. Bayen, however, was stiff all over. He wanted to activate his strongest spells, True Strike and Strong Electric Claw, but found that he seemed to have lost his mana.
The man opposite said kindly, “You are very, very interesting.”
Bayen looked at the man’s eyes, which were like someone looking at a new toy, and despair flashed in his heart. The Anazir Dice in his bosom remained motionless, like an ostrich.
In a trance, Bayen seemed to return to the time when he obtained the Anazir Dice; that was his eternal scar.
The man snapped his fingers. The waiting crowd around them instantly froze. He took Bayen’s hand, and the two vanished instantly.
Bayen felt a wave of dizziness. When he returned to normal, he found himself in a temple.
“How does it feel? You seem to have obtained power that mortals cannot obtain. Very interesting. Can you tell me about it?”
A very gentle but unquestionable voice came from the man’s mouth. Bayen suddenly felt the man was extremely tall and he was extremely small. That was unrivaled majesty, preventing one from raising even a shred of resistance.
He talked about logic and mathematics, and the objective and neutral spirit of research. The man’s eyes flashed with excitement, as if a sweet spot had been hit. He discussed with Bayen with dancing hands and feet, fiercely debating what a concept is and what logical thinking is.
The two chatted freely for nearly three days and three nights, from the analysis of New and Old Medicine to the guiding significance of logic for thinking, and then to the necessity of mathematics for approaching truth. They seemed to get happier the more they talked. The man almost forgot himself. Suddenly, he emitted extreme light and slowly floated in mid-air.
“Bayen, your wisdom makes me admire you. I respect your contract and will not ask why you possess supernatural power. In my view, this is not blasphemy. I am Demigod Thoth. Become my Favored One, and I shall bestow glory upon you.”
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