Chapter 28: Coming-of-Age Ceremony
“Ice blocks, Ketira red leaves, crackling stone.”
The lake being sought is quite broad, surrounded by lush forests, resembling a large eye reflecting fish scale-like glimmers in the sunlight.
The materials purchased by Ke Lili are relatively primitive; undoubtedly, the adult ceremony of the Dragon Tribe does not require finely crafted items.
Ice blocks are precious to the relatively primitive subhumans, Ketira red leaves grow in underground dark rivers, and crackling stones grow deep in the earth’s veins. Though they are different substances, they serve the same purpose.
Heat absorption.
Before the medical revolution, humans often used Ketira red leaves to treat malignant fevers. Although they could be quite effective clinically, they often resulted in frostbite to human organs, causing more severe complications. No doctors use such items anymore.
Fisher watched as Ke Lili fed Raphael the small black-red leaves, reaching down to touch her forehead. The effect was soon visible; her temperature rapidly dropped, but she still felt like a giant furnace, extremely hot to the touch.
“Have you thought it through? After I come of age, I will definitely try to assassinate you again. You shouldn’t regret helping me get through the coming-of-age ceremony; a complete Dragon Warrior is something you humans seldom see.”
Indeed, most captured Dragon Races are in their juvenile state; adult Dragons are hard to capture, and even if captured, they are likely to be dead or severely injured, which holds no significance.
Dragon Races are born warriors; their combat form completely blooms after coming of age.
Fisher, however, was unconcerned and simply nodded, saying, “You still have two assassination opportunities left; you still owe me a punishment.”
Raphael paused for a second, then began to smile. Suddenly, she spoke awkwardly in Nali to Fisher, “You will… see.”
The following “see” was meant to convey another word, but she couldn’t remember what it was and had to replace it with a vague word that made no sense.
She learned Nali very quickly, remembering many new words in just one night. It seems the human concept that subhumans have the intelligence of domesticated pigs is completely wrong.
“I look forward to it.”
At that moment, Ke Lili floated over from the lake and said to Fisher, “Sir Fisher, the ceremony is ready.”
The sun gradually set, and the round moon rose on the other side of the sky, lowering the temperature on the ground. In the center of the lake, Ke Lili had Xiya move a large pile of crackling stones to create a platform. As soon as they were placed on the lake’s surface, the water below the crackling stones froze into a thin layer of ice, holding them up.
Above the stones, ice blocks formed a bed, with several pieces of Ketira red leaves placed beside it.
“Please have your companions help a bit; you cannot wear any clothing during the ceremony.”
Just as Ke Lili was about to help Raphael remove her clothes, she felt a burning heat the moment she touched the burlap garment. Unable to proceed, she had to call the Dragon people over to help.
Mill and Fashir came over to assist her in removing her clothes. Raphael awkwardly glanced to see if Fisher was watching; she only saw his silhouette in the distance as he lit a cigarette.
Raphael bit her lip as several Dragon people lifted her onto the ceremony site in the lake. The instant her body made contact with the ice bed, a large amount of steam suddenly rose up, making the area resemble a fairyland.
“Raphael, I must remind you that the difficulty of the coming-of-age ceremony varies among different Dragons. It could be as simple as taking a nap or involve excruciating pain. Your reaction is greater than any other Dragon coming of age I have seen, so if it becomes unbearable, just take as many ice leaves as you can. They will temporarily alleviate your suffering.”
Ke Lili’s ethereal body swayed from the heat radiating from Raphael. Wiping nonexistent sweat, she looked down at the scales that had fallen from Raphael. Even Dragon scales had ignited from the heat, falling through the ice bed and onto the stones below.
“When you’re ready, I’ll begin chanting the incantation to guide your growth.”
Raphael took a deep breath and closed her eyes, “Um, let’s begin.”
Ke Lili nodded, then floated from the warming lake to the shore. She took out an ancient parchment from her chest and looked solemnly at the center of the lake beneath the night sky.
The surrounding Dragons all tightened their hands, worriedly watching over there, silently praying for Raphael’s coming-of-age ceremony.
As the moonlight rose, the moon, like ice, seemed to cover half the sky, making the entire lake appear frozen, turning it silver-white.
Fisher’s expression was emotionless as he lit another cigarette. Propping his palm on his side, his gaze also fell on the steamy lake.
“Κψτετο, ψυχδρκου”
Ke Lili took a deep breath and began to recite the Dragon language, line by line, even Fisher unable to understand her words. The sound was not loud, but upon reaching Raphael’s ears, it seemed to awaken some invisible, violent energy.
The next second, her entire Magical Circuit illuminated with brightness. The densely packed, lava-like Magical Circuits seemed to grow beyond what Fisher had previously seen, as if they were about to rupture completely, squirming incessantly.
“Ugh!”
As the ethereal Magical Circuits moved, it felt as if every blood vessel and ounce of blood in Raphael’s body was ignited. She quickly tasted that kind of pain, like suns exploding within her, burning her perception and nerves to ashes.
The Ketira red leaves she had consumed earlier took effect. In her increasingly rapid breaths, the undigested red leaves continuously supplied her body with cold air. What was an extremely cold substance for humans now felt like an awkward, helpless firefighter.
But amid the pain, Fisher clearly saw the squirming Magical Circuits moving in an orderly manner with Ke Lili’s incantation. At the connection point of all the Magical Circuits, right in front of the brain, a hard lump began to form.
That was Raphael’s horn.
As Ke Lili’s chant quickened, the surrounding Mill and others held their breath, fearing that their breathing would affect the distant situation.
“Lord Raphael’s horn is growing!
Lal, with sharp eyes, saw the long and beautiful red horn, which at that moment radiated with dazzling light, like the sun.
“What a powerful force, Lord Raphael.”
“Boom!!”
The seething heat burned through the ice bed beneath, even causing the crackling stones underneath to begin to fracture and explode into stone fragments.
That one horn had already formed!
Ke Lili’s guiding incantation reached its conclusion. Wiping away sweat, she looked at the surrounding steam-engulfed Dragon girl; that beautiful red horn was stronger than any Dragon recorded in history.
“It’s done.”
The soul of Lord Raphael must be the hottest and strongest among all Dragons.
Lal thought in a daze.
But Fisher’s gaze seemed to see through the thick steam to Raphael’s state at that moment. One beautiful Dragon horn had already grown, but the lava-like Magical Circuits on Raphael’s body showed no signs of dissipating. Instead, they moved around energetically, wildly searching for an escape.
No, the coming-of-age ceremony was not over yet!
“Ke Lili, her coming-of-age ceremony is not over yet!!”
Fisher stood up urgently with his staff, reminding the relieved Ke Lili.
The Magical Circuits activated by the incantation had completely become frenzied, searching for a weak outlet within Raphael’s body. One Dragon horn had already grown, but the energy pouring from that horn was not the outlet, causing the power to escape aimlessly, bursting into flames.
All the prepared materials had been completely consumed. Ke Lili had not understood the sudden situation and stared blankly at the events in the lake.
“Ah ah ah!!”
A large amount of Magical Circuits still remained, swirling within Raphael’s body, causing her to arch in pain. At that moment, her temperature had risen to a terrifying level, as if her internal organs were being burned through.
“Lord Raphael!”
“Why… why is it not over yet?”
She could no longer bear it, and instinctively recalled Ke Lili’s warning, reaching for the nearby Ketira red leaves. However, the moment the leaf, exuding a piercing coldness, touched the dragon claw on Raphael’s body, it burst into flames, as if its proud heat-absorbing ability had been shattered by the terrifying temperature.
“Boom!”
“Wait… her situation is too special; normal Dragons wouldn’t…”
Ke Lili hadn’t finished speaking when Fisher stood in front of her, throwing his outer clothing on the ground, raising his staff.
“Continue reciting the incantation.”
“Okay.”
That man’s voice brought the dazed Ke Lili back to focus. She returned to the beginning of the incantation, her voice trembling as she recited it.
The Magical Circuits were guided once more, but this time, nothing could lower her temperature.
The stones were completely burned through, and Raphael’s body fell into the lake. However, that temperature merely caused the lake water to evaporate upon contact, leading her to continue sinking. All that others could see was the sun-like figure bubbling beneath the water.
Fisher remained calm, positioning his staff in front of him. As he closed his eyes, rings of purple magical light lit up one by one on the staff, illuminating a strange power deeper than the starry sky.
This was not a magic he had inscribed, but it had to be used now.
As eight constantly rotating deep purple rings revolved around Fisher, the surrounding world seemed to freeze, stirred by the rings of light, before the massive lake began to flow backward into the sky under the moon’s gaze.
“Drip drop.”
“Tap tap.”
Eight-ring magic, [Gravity Celestial Ring].
Along with the burning Raphael that had already sunk to the bottom, everything began to levitate. Fisher exhaled, lifting his staff and charging toward Raphael, suspended in midair.
“Lord Fisher!”
The moonlight was subtle, and above the drained lake, countless suspended, still droplets were disturbed by Fisher’s advancing figure, then trapped by an invisible force in midair, reflecting the sun-like silhouette ahead.
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(End of this chapter)
