Chapter 101: Chapter 101
While speaking, Ron stared directly into the other man’s eyes, refusing to yield an inch just because the man was a Formal Knight. The man was just about to speak when he was interrupted by a companion beside him:
“Marlin, shut your mouth! Do you really think we don’t know what’s on your mind? Do you actually want me to say it out loud right in front of Captain Morris’s tombstone?”
“Meredith, you, you’re actually accusing me like this for an outsider?”
“Don’t give me that ‘you and I’ nonsense. In Captain Morris’s eyes, it’s hard to say who the real outsider was!”
With that said, Meredith shot Ron an apologetic glance, signaling for him to leave first. Ron felt puzzled, but because he indeed had duties to attend to, and didn’t want to cause a scene with that man at Morris’s funeral, he let it go.
He bowed once more to Morris’s tombstone, then turned and walked away.
Even from a distance, he could still hear the discontented voice of the man named Marlin.
On his way out of the cemetery, Ron didn’t forget to observe the other coffins being buried. Seeing this only made Morris’s coffin appear even more abnormal.
The coffins of the other deceased displayed no difference from the surrounding soil. Pollution Secret Patterns drifted right through them, completely unaffected, just as if they were passing through the surrounding earth.
Could it be that the other deceased’s coffins were all empty?
That was clearly impossible. Ron had plainly seen the corpses at the training ground. Since there were corpses, how could they not bury them? What would be the point of using empty coffins?
In comparison, he was more inclined to believe that the problem lay with Morris’s coffin.
As for what exactly the problem was, he couldn’t figure it out just yet. But he did know one thing: Morris’s coffin had now become a focal point gathering Pollution Secret Patterns. If this process continued indefinitely, no one could predict what it would eventually evolve into.
At least according to Ron’s current understanding, Pollution Secret Patterns were definitely not a good thing. This was evident from the very fact that he had named these patterns “Pollution.”
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but quicken his pace, reuniting with Monte and the others to resume their patrol.
…
On their second patrol loop, Ron passed by the training ground again. He stepped inside for a quick look, but it was practically deserted. At the very least, not a single one of the instructors he was hoping to see was there.
Ron couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment, but he didn’t let it show. Instead, he continued his patrol, never once mentioning the anomaly he had witnessed at the cemetery to Monte.
Logically, he should have reported this situation to the territory’s authorities, but doing so would mean exposing his ability to directly observe Pollution Secret Patterns.
And this was an ability that Ron had intentionally probed Morris about when the man had already become a Senior Knight. Even Morris didn’t possess it!
If he were accused of being corrupted by an Evil Spirit Invasion just because of this ability, wouldn’t that be an extreme injustice!
Therefore, he could only investigate and ponder it on his own for now. At the same time, he decided to frequently visit the cemetery to check on Morris in the future, just to see what would ultimately happen to those abnormally converging Pollution Secret Patterns.
…
During the midday break, Ron went to find Arnold. Using the pretext of gathering intuitive information regarding Aberrant Beasts to better detect any that breached the territory, he asked to borrow the Aberrant Beast Horn that had been left at the training ground.
“I placed that horn in the storage shed next to the training ground. Go find Old George and tell him I gave you permission. But you can only observe it inside the shed; you cannot take it out.”
Considering that the enemies the territory had recently encountered might be controlling Aberrant Beasts, Arnold pondered for a moment before agreeing to let Ron observe the Aberrant Beast Horn, though he still laid down his own conditions.
Ron readily agreed to this. As long as he could take another look at it, even if it was just a single glance, he would be able to confirm a great deal of information.
It was just a pity that he had possessed the ability to directly observe Pollution Secret Patterns for far too short a time. If he had this ability from the very beginning, he wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble now.
All of his memories were stored within his true Light Orb. Retracing his memories allowed him to retrieve all information perceived in the past, but the prerequisite was that he had actually perceived it. If he hadn’t been able to perceive it at the time, no amount of retracing now would do any good.
When Ron first saw the Aberrant Beast Horn back then, he hadn’t yet possessed the ability to directly observe Pollution Secret Patterns. Even if he retraced his memories now, it was impossible to know the relationship between the Aberrant Beast Horn and the Pollution Secret Patterns.
However, after experiencing so much, he currently harbored a faint suspicion in his mind, even without going back to verify it.
…
After leaving Arnold, Ron seized the time and immediately headed to the West Town Training Ground. He found Old George basking in the sun at the warehouse door, casually handed him a handful of nuts, and then explained his purpose:
“Old George, Instructor Arnold sent me to examine that Aberrant Beast Horn.”
“Mm.”
Old George, lying back in his recliner, merely tilted his head slightly. He accepted the nuts Ron offered, pointed to the warehouse behind him to grant entry, and gave a warning:
“Little guy! That thing is wicked stuff. You haven’t advanced to Knight yet, so don’t stare at it for too long. If you start feeling unwell, close the box immediately.”
“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”
With that, Ron bypassed Old George, opened the warehouse doors, and stepped inside. The warehouse was piled high with the training equipment that Ron and the other apprentices frequently used. Instructor Arnold’s wooden box stood out conspicuously among the clutter.
As Ron drew closer, even before opening the box, he could already observe the “boiling” and “surging” Pollution Secret Patterns within, tightly bound inside the box by some mysterious force.
“No wonder the ancients bought the box and returned the pearl!”`[1]`
Ron had always overlooked the wooden box holding the Aberrant Beast Horn in the past. He had assumed that it was the visual sight of the horn itself that caused him to feel intimidated.
If he thought about it carefully, it was easy to see the truth: if it were truly a matter of sight, wouldn’t simply blindfolding oneself grant immunity to the Aberrant Beast’s intimidating aura?
A Knight’s perception was powerful enough that they didn’t rely entirely on vision to process battlefield information. Yet, in reality, no one would blindfold themselves when fighting an Aberrant Beast.
After all, not relying entirely on vision didn’t mean that vision wasn’t important. On the contrary, vision was extremely important.
Ron and the other apprentices were never taught to blindfold themselves when battling Aberrant Beasts. Instead, they were instructed to maintain a lofty fighting spirit, using their own willpower to resist that intimidating force.
Right now, he could clearly see one aspect of the Aberrant Beast Horn’s true nature: it was an aggregation of countless Pollution Secret Patterns. If he opened the box right now, what would happen?
Thinking of this, Ron reached out and pressed his hand against the box, applying a little force to open it. In an instant, he felt an overwhelmingly intense impact, even though this wasn’t his first time experiencing it.
Yet, it was almost as intense every single time as it had been the first.
Of course, he now possessed a considerable degree of resistance to this Aberrant Beast Horn’s intimidating aura. At the very least, he wouldn’t be overwhelmed to the point of losing his ability to think like he was at the beginning, nor would his consciousness feel like it was about to be ripped from his body.
And the very moment the impact struck, Ron saw the exact source of this intimidating force!
[1]: “Bought the box and returned the pearl” is a Chinese idiom meaning focusing on superficial appearances while missing the true value. Ron uses it here because he previously ignored the wooden box, assuming the horn was the sole source of the anomaly, only to realize the box itself serves as a vital seal.