Chapter 5: Chapter 5

And now, even with “Ron’s” body as protection, the foreign-colored patterns on the surface of his Light Orb true form continued to increase without cessation, though the rate of increase was far less dramatic than when he had been unprotected.

This also meant that without an effective method of removal, his doom was staring him right in the face!

Based on the current rate of increase, Ron estimated that within six months at the latest, these accumulating foreign-colored patterns could cover the entire surface of the Light Orb.

Although the notion that being completely covered by foreign-colored patterns would spell catastrophe was still only his speculation, or rather his intuition, could he really afford to ignore something that concerned his very life and death just because he lacked conclusive evidence?

“I have to find a way out as soon as possible!”

Ron had never been one to waver in indecision. This was also the fundamental reason why he remained calm even after experiencing something as mind-bending as transmigration. Since he was here, he would make the best of it.

Having already identified the foreign-colored patterns on his Light Orb’s surface as a threat, he naturally had to find a way to eliminate them or at least slow their rate of increase.

After lengthy contemplation, Ron roughly conceived two possible approaches.

One was that since these foreign-colored patterns originated from the environment itself, and the local humans could remain unharmed and even build a civilization, they must possess the ability to resist them. Perhaps he could seek the help of local transcendent individuals.

Of course, if he could become a transcendent himself, that would be ideal!

The other approach was based on the fact that the foreign-colored patterns existed on the surface of his Light Orb, yet he himself had not yet faced any direct threat. This more or less indicated that the Light Orb possessed a certain degree of “resistance” to these foreign-colored patterns.

The next step would be to figure out how to strengthen this “resistance,” granting himself the ability to directly withstand or even purge those foreign-colored patterns.

With these thoughts in mind, Ron formulated a preliminary plan for his next steps. In the near term, he needed to find a way to integrate into the local community. Further down the line, he had to find a way to resolve the threat of the foreign-colored patterns.

And both of these plans pointed to one immediate task: joining the territory guard.

Only by joining the territory guard could he avoid “Ron’s” acquaintances. Only by joining the territory guard could he gain access to transcendent power. Only by joining the territory guard could he deepen his understanding of this world.

…

With his mental preparation and planning complete, the next step was concrete action. Ron immersed himself in the body and added a few logs to the fireplace.

It was still the dead of night. All he could do for now was continue exploring his Light Orb true form and the interactive mechanisms between the orb and “Ron’s” body.

First, one thing was certain: the mysterious patterns on the orb’s surface that represented “Ron” were indeed akin to a complete conceptual aggregate of everything that constituted the being known as “Ron.”

Height, weight, tissue condition, everything could be matched to corresponding patterns. It was as if the most fundamental source code of this body lay fully exposed across the orb’s surface, open for his inspection.

The more he examined them, the more Ron felt that his transmigrated Light Orb true form was extraordinary. The mysterious patterns on its surface clearly served purposes far beyond mere display. He had already demonstrated this earlier when he made “Ron’s” body function normally by expelling the foreign-colored patterns.

This suggested to some extent that the foreign-colored patterns and their corresponding real-world manifestations were actually two sides of the same coin. Altering one would cause a corresponding change in the other.

This also meant that if he could comprehend the inner workings of these mysterious patterns, he could potentially manipulate “Ron’s” body directly from the orb’s surface to endow it with transcendent power.

Of course, the current Ron was nowhere close to achieving this. At the very least, he didn’t even know what transcendent power truly was. Reckless experimentation might well damage this hard-won vessel and shelter.

But he could at least attempt to observe and categorize the phenomena already within his control. With that in mind, he re-entered “Ron’s” body once more.

Only this time, he did not fully immerse himself. Instead, he only engaged partial sensory input while maintaining indirect control over the rest. It was like putting on a VR headset: he could directly see what the game character saw, but his hands were still operating a controller.

Ron, in his Light Orb form, instinctively knew how to operate this body. Whether he could do so skillfully, of course, was another matter entirely.

…

Inside the wooden cabin with its tasteful decorations, Ron cleared a small open space. Then, recalling memories of doing morning exercises as a child, he guided the body through a series of simple warm-up movements.

Leg stretches, chest expansions, torso twists, and the like.

With every movement, he could find the corresponding changes in the patterns on his Light Orb’s surface. It was a painstakingly tedious process, but with a clear goal in mind, he naturally had the discipline to carry it through with unwavering focus.

This world was by no means a peaceful one. The rule-of-law state of the Sis Territory puzzled him deeply. Even with external threats like evil spirits and Aberrant Beasts, it still didn’t explain why a classical society would suddenly adopt such a law-driven system.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that some other, more critical factor was at play here.

Think about it: a territorial lord who also commanded transcendent power, why would he show such respect to lowly farmers? It wasn’t that respecting the lower class was wrong, but for a classical society to do so without any external constraints was genuinely abnormal.

Ron asked himself honestly: if he became a territorial lord, would he show such respect to the farmers at the bottom, consulting them on every matter?

Even having received civic education from a young age, he wouldn’t dare thump his chest and guarantee he could pull it off. Perhaps in the beginning, yes. But as time passed and power corroded all it touched, would those original principles truly remain unchanged?

Therefore, Ron concluded that there must exist some far greater power in this world, one that compelled the Lord of Sis to establish the current order.

Ron had yet to see the world beyond the Sis Territory. If the outside was like this too, then it would truly be extraordinary. A power capable of forcing an entire world to change was almost beyond imagination.

Of course, regardless of the outside world, the Sis Territory was currently the best place for Ron to adapt to his new reality.

…

Aside from the unknown long-term threats, the most immediate and direct danger to Ron was those foreign-colored patterns. With his life already on a countdown, he had no choice but to give it everything he had.

Through that night of experimentation and summary, Ron oddly found himself reconnecting with the feeling of being a wage slave from before his transmigration.

Of course, it was only a feeling. A wage slave worked hard for someone else, while now he was working hard for himself. That was why he threw himself into the task with such extraordinary vigor.

At some unknown hour, a faint glimmer of light seeped through the crack in the door. Ron finally noticed the time. But his first reaction was not to marvel that dawn had arrived, but rather to think:

“So I really don’t need to rest! Truly a born Holy Body of Overtime!”

Research in the state he had maintained last night barely consumed any of the Light Orb’s energy. Paradoxically, it was when he fully immersed himself in “Ron’s” body that he felt a wave of depletion wash over him.

The miraculous beef Liya had brought was long gone, and he had even roasted four or five extra flatbreads on top of that. The latter alone amounted to what “Ron” would normally eat over two days!