fynovel Chapter 72 Awakening, Mastering 3 Types of Death
Chapter 72 Awakening, Mastering 3 Types of Death
The wind began to flow again. But the dark lines on Gu Chen's face did not fade; they writhed beneath his skin like a group of trapped worms.
Gu Chen had already fainted; his escape had exhausted his last bit of strength.
"Senior Isera..."
"Alright, we haven't even gotten anything done yet, and we've already caused trouble. The token was given yesterday, and you've already used it today. I know what you're thinking."
"If you hadn't had the information and token of the Source Crystal, I would never have come to save you."
Isera gently raised her arm, and vines rose from the soft black soil of the Black Forest, lifting Gu Chen up and carrying him forward.
"...Have you fainted?"
"Well, that's normal, after all, it's the Arrow of Dark Erosion."
Ken and Jim stood there dumbfounded. The power of the third-ring wizard was simply too great. Not only had the wind frozen, but the two of them had also been frozen in place.
They were completely unable to move.
"Come with me, you two."
They regained their mobility only after Ysera waved her hand.
They glanced at each other, unsure of what to say in this situation, and could only jog to catch up with Ysera.
Even though Ysera's pace was very slow, for some reason, he had already traveled a great distance in just the blink of an eye.
"Ha ha……"
Ken could still hold on, but Jim was truly panting and about to collapse. Even if his willpower kicked in, it was only mental; physically, he was still just a child.
"Come on to me, it's okay."
Ken turned his head to look at the panting Jim, paused for a moment, and finally squatted down in front of Jim, carrying the little child on his back.
"Um... thank you."
"It's okay, Jim. Uh, I still can't get used to calling you 'senior,' so I'll just call you Jim."
This is only a shallow area of the Black Forest, where some light can still filter in.
At that moment, Ken's bald head reflected a ray of sunlight that shone in, making it gleam.
The three hurried on their way and finally returned to the familiar golden oak forest.
The golden light was so dazzling that it momentarily stunned Jim. Ken, on the other hand, fared better. In his pursuit of speed, he had left Jim near the entrance while he went to find Ysera, whom he had already seen once.
However... I have never seen a golden oak forest before... especially not such a large one.
The Gray Tower Academy Black Forest Quest Center doesn't have a map... Should we draw one?
As Ken pondered this, he suddenly realized that his idea was somewhat dangerous.
If they really did get a map, I wonder what Ysera would do to herself.
It was probably stuck into a tree and used as a pendant.
Ken quickly dismissed his thoughts and looked at Gu Chen, who was being supported by the vines summoned by Ysera, and felt a sense of emotion.
The cheap teacher I inexplicably took in is really going all out... Logically speaking, first-ring wizards and apprentices should only stay in the very shallow areas, starting with the rocky slope, but Gu Chen actually went to the edge area, the place closest to the center.
And that right arm I acquired... not only can I use life magic, but I can also use soul-corroding death energy, it's truly...
Ken was surprised; he seemed to have a feeling that could be called "admiration".
"Find a place to sit down. The life energy here is abundant and good for your health."
Isera waved her hand, just like when she was chatting with Gu Chen, and summoned several chairs made of vines, which appeared directly under Jim and Ken's buttocks.
"Thank you, teacher. My name is Ken. Thank you for your help."
"Thank you, senior. My name is Jim..."
Ken performed a wizard's salute upon hearing Isela's words, while Jim's salute was noticeably different.
When Ysera saw the movement, she paused for a moment, her pupils widening slightly.
Isn't this court etiquette?
Moreover... only members of the royal family would understand that certain subtle nuances cannot be acted out.
Heh, what kind of trouble has this blood sorcerer gotten himself into...?
Isera didn't speak, but turned to look at Gu Chen.
Those terrifying black lines and shadows were etched on Gu Chen's face, extremely conspicuous, like twisted venomous snakes coiled on it.
The dark shadows are like a quagmire, making you feel as if your heart is being swallowed up the moment you see them...
This is pure darkness, an endless darkness.
Iser reached out and gently pressed his long, slender fingers against his forehead.
His face was pale, and his skin felt as cold as tree bark.
"The Shadow Arrow..." Ysera whispered.
"Fragments of the concept of darkness, and they are taking root within you, which will then transform you into pure darkness, and you will be absorbed into the shadow of the Dark Eroder."
"Luckily, I took the Life Dew I gave you, otherwise I would have died long ago."
"I suppose it's because I admire you... that I saved your life."
Ysera frowned slightly, her fingertips twitching, drawing upon the magic in the air. A pure, flawless green light responded to her call and surged into Gu Chen's body.
Gu Chen's consciousness had already fallen into darkness; in fact, he had lost consciousness the instant he was hit by the arrow.
Thanks to Ysera's rescue and Gu Chen's strong will to survive, he managed to break free.
The price to pay is that the aftereffects are now more severe. For Gu Chen, it can be said that his consciousness has completely fallen into darkness, with no possibility of waking up.
However, he was helped by a third-ring nature wizard.
This is a forest of golden oak trees, where light is everywhere. The pure and flawless power of nature and life entered Gu Chen's body.
Gu Chen's consciousness floated in the darkness.
He vaguely felt the soft touch of the vines supporting his body and heard faint voices in the distance, but everything was blurry, as if separated by a thick layer of water.
For example, in winter, even though there's only a tiny layer between the ice and the water, you can't see anything at all.
Something cold was wriggling on his face. Gu Chen didn't know what it was, but the scene he saw before losing consciousness told him that it must be the black line that appeared after the black arrow hit him... They greedily sucked his life force, wanting to draw the last bit of warmth out of this body.
But something is resisting.
Gu Chen could feel a strange and stubborn resistance coming from deep within his right arm, as if a part of his body was autonomously fighting against an intruder, without the need for conscious command.
His body had completely given up, but the life-or-death grip on his right arm was still fighting with all its might.
"He instinctively resisted the encroachment of darkness."
Isera's voice seemed to come from a very far place. Gu Chen felt a cold hand press on his forehead, and then a spring-like energy surged into his body.
It is the power of life, but it is very gentle.
This life energy did not directly attack the black lines, but bypassed them and flowed into the right arm.
The lines of the life-or-death grip suddenly lit up.
A dark golden light emanated from beneath the skin, but this time, the direction of that light was strange. Instead of spreading outward, it contracted inward, like countless tiny roots burrowing into the area where the dark fragments were rooted.
"Your arm is... it's getting more and more chaotic now, yet it hasn't gotten out of control and blown you up."
There was a hint of surprise in Isera's voice.
Instead of trying to devour the dark magic, it enveloped the area being eroded.
The scene here naturally attracted Jim and Ken, who had been watching from the side, and they couldn't help but come over.
Ken took Jim's hand and approached him cautiously, asking, "What's the principle behind this?"
"principle?"
Isera withdrew her hand, her gaze falling on the intricate patterns on Gu Chen's arm.
"His arm forcibly controlled these complex energies in an extremely subtle way, in a way that was completely beyond what his mental talent and wizarding rings could achieve, a kind of artistic energy balancing method."
"This arm made its own judgment without its owner's awareness. It knew that forcibly devouring would only result in a backlash, so it chose a smarter way..."
He paused.
"Put it in a 'box' and open it when you're able to handle it."
As soon as he finished speaking, the black lines on Gu Chen's face suddenly stopped moving.
They were fixed under the skin, like insects sealed in amber; although they still existed, they had lost the ability to continue to erode.
"I...I'm alright?"
Gu Chen's consciousness was still very chaotic... Although these black lines had stopped wriggling, they had not disappeared, and their erosion and damage to him were still present.
However, Gu Chen suddenly realized that these black lines had not stopped moving, but were instead converging and moving towards his right arm!
He should do something!
"Don't resist."
Just as Gu Chen was about to do something, Isera's voice rang out directly in his consciousness.
"Let it come into contact with the strength in your arm."
"What? But—"
"It was I who guided the dark magic left in your body by the Dark Eroder."
"Of course I can save you directly, it just requires more life energy."
"But I'm a plant-type, not a light-type. The Golden Oak Forest is a life-type, and I have a hard time completely dispelling the dark power of the Dark Eroder. If you don't want to come here every week to replenish your life force, then you can try a more dangerous method."
Gu Chen stopped talking. Although his consciousness was still very blurry, he chose to obey Isela's words.
The reason is simple: if Ysera wanted to kill him, she could have done it already. Besides, he was still useful to her, so he could probably trust her.
"Imagine your life-or-death grip is a door."
Isera asked, "What is the purpose of a door?"
Gu Chen understood instantly.
"The door... you can enter the house by opening the door, but the door can keep out things that are too tall or too small."
Doors are not just passageways, but also filters and converters.
He relaxed his body, letting the cold darkness flow along his veins to his right arm.
Black threads coursed through the veins, guided by Ysera to the Grip of Life and Death. And when the dark magic touched the lingering soul-corroding death energy and the necromantic magic left by Calcorsa within the Grip of Life and Death—
resonance!
Darkness, soul-corroding death energy, necromantic magic...
These represent absolute death, slow death, and death after death, respectively.
Three different deaths meet in the arm.
Ysera's guiding green light weaves like a delicate knitting needle between the three forces.
"See clearly." Ysera's voice carried an ancient rhythm. "Death is not one thing. It has many faces: ending, cycle, decay, silence, return to nothingness..."
Gu Chen's consciousness was forcibly pulled into an introspective state.
He saw:
The black fragments of the Dark Arrow resemble sharp icicles, representing "the end".
Calcosa's gray mist magic is like a viscous gel, representing "manipulation".
His own Soul-Eating Death Aura is a flowing dark gold, representing "corrosion".
Three forces intertwined, probed, and clashed deep within the arm.
then!
The dark gold patterns on the Grip of Life and Death came to life.
The patterns extended like tree roots, entwining the black ice spikes and enveloping the gray gelatinous substance. It wasn't devouring, but rather...integrating.
"This truly shocks me..."
Isela said his expression clearly showed shock.
"They actually did it."
"Haha... I wish she could have been like that before."
As the three streams of death magic merged, a fleeting sadness flashed in Ysera's eyes.
Gu Chen felt a sharp burning pain deep in his arm; it wasn't the pain of injury, but the pain of growth.
The dark gold patterns became more complex, evolving from simple lines into layers of geometric patterns, like some kind of ancient sealing runes.
During this process, the dark lines on his face began to fade.
It wasn't dispersed, it was drawn away—flowing along the blood vessels to the right arm, where it was absorbed, analyzed, and recombined by the Grip of Life and Death.
Five minutes later.
Gu Chen opened his eyes.
His skin had returned to its normal color, with only a few very faint gray lines remaining at the corners of his eyes, like carefully applied eyeshadow.
And his right arm—
The dark gold patterns had spread to the shoulders, forming a complete closed loop at the collarbone. The color of the patterns was no longer a simple dark gold, but presented a gradient: from the dark gold at the wrists, to the dark gold with a grayish tinge at the elbows, to the grayish-black at the shoulders.
"Stand up," Isera said.
Gu Chen stood up.
He felt his right arm filled with... three different forces.
His mind stirred slightly.
What emerged from his fingertips was a dark golden, soul-corroding aura—the power of plunder and decay.
The back of his hand was shrouded in a gray mist of necromantic power—this was the power to manipulate blasphemy.
The palm of his hand was filled with the pure black concept of death—this was the power of forced termination.
The three forces are clearly distinct, yet they are also seamlessly integrated.
"This is..." Gu Chen murmured.
"You're so lucky..."
Looking at Gu Chen who had opened his eyes, Isera's expression was complicated, with an indescribable emotion that could not be expressed in words but was evident on her face.
Joy, sadness, regret, pain, happiness...
So many emotions were on Ysera's face.