Chapter 452
Temporary Teammate Ibn
February 15th, Eivass and Isabel both took the day off.
Many students had taken leave that day.
Because after the Lunar New Year break, it would already be the second semester at the Royal Law University.
This semester was very short with a heavy workload, lasting less than three months. From mid-April, the Royal Law University would have a two-week spring break. After classes resumed on May 1st, it would be the third semester, dedicated to internships, experiments, certifications, and examinations.
The third semester ran from May 1st to mid-to-late July, followed by the summer vacation until classes resumed on September 1st.
During the third semester, students with Extraordinary Profession levels would gain internship privileges, and certifications also required an Extraordinary Profession level. While individuals at the First Tier could certainly find employment, they shouldn’t expect much in terms of compensation. Except for a few professions like Priests and Botanists, most others were practically useless at the First Tier.
Supervisors could manifest sparks of electricity while practicing martial arts, Mages could cast a few spells with less power than a handgun, Alchemists couldn’t concoct anything, and Bards could probably add weak positive or negative status effects to their singing, effective at most only on First Tier individuals or Ordinary Persons. Most Extraordinary persons at the First Tier couldn’t defeat multiple well-built Ordinary Persons armed with weapons.
Priests, however, could offer some minor healing even at the First Tier. Therefore, the graduation requirements for the Seminary were much more lenient, not even requiring the mastery of the Blessing spell.
It wasn’t until the Second Tier that one could be considered a proper Extraordinary. At this level, unless ambushed or sniped, it would be difficult for Ordinary Persons, even in large numbers, to injure an Extraordinary adept at combat.
Formal Supervisors from the Inspection Bureau and priests from churches were generally at this level.
For students approaching graduation whose levels were still stuck at LV9, the second semester was their last chance to advance to the Second Tier. Considering only the Full Moon Ritual, there were at most three opportunities for Ascension, and each Ascension carried a one-third chance of failure.
Eivass was a freshman, and most of his classmates had not taken leave.
Isabel, a year ahead of Eivass, had seven or eight classmates absent from her class.
Even after becoming the Queen of Avalon, Isabel still arrived at the university for classes on time, which would have been almost impossible before.
For safety reasons, every King and Queen of Avalon rarely left the Silver and Tin Hall after their coronation.
If they needed to study, they would typically invite professors to the palace for private lessons.
Isabel’s genuine and natural affinity with the common people undoubtedly made her an exception.
Her classmates and teachers, initially worried, nervous, and fearful, quickly adapted to the now much more cheerful young queen.
They viewed this unique situation as a difference between the Path of Beauty and the Path of Authority. After all, before Isabel, the successive monarchs of Avalon had all been “Knight Kings” of the Path of Authority. She was the only “Art King” of the Path of Beauty.
As a result, friends that Isabel had yearned for in the past, now that her heart was whole and she no longer craved them, appeared in abundance.
Eivass was now a resident of the Silver and Tin Hall with a different status than before. Naturally, he didn’t need to prepare the Ascension Ritual himself. Osborne and Ibn, two veteran Ritualists, prepared the Ascension Rituals for Isabel and Eivass respectively.
Isabel went to the safer underground ritual chamber, while Eivass prepared the ritual directly in his bedroom.
“Thank you, Teacher.”
Eivass sincerely thanked Ibn.
Ibn simply smiled slightly and stroked his white goatee.
Compared to a few months ago, Ibn’s curly hair had become even finer, and his oily green pupils had grown more cloudy and dim, gradually shifting towards jade. It was like ink spreading in a green pond.
His mental state was clearly not good, and his spirits were low.
“Have you prepared the Drunken Dream T? You still need Drunken Dream T for ascending to the Fourth Tier, otherwise, the intense pain can easily wake you up… That’s too dangerous and a great pity.”
Ibn asked with concern, taking out a small, cool, oil-paper-wrapped round box the size of a balm from his pocket: “If you haven’t prepared it, use mine. Don’t worry, I haven’t used this one. It’s complete.”
For Ordinary Persons, a lick of Drunken Dream T would be effective. Because of this, some low-level Extraordinary individuals who were short on cash would also buy used Drunken Dream T that had been licked by others to stabilize their dreams.
However, for Extraordinary persons undergoing an Ascension Ritual, a whole box was used at once.
Eivass paused for a moment and took the box of Drunken Dream T. It indeed had the pattern of a yellow crescent moon with a human face, and below it was the production date: “1898-06-024.”
A batch from six months ago, still quite new.
Eivass looked at his Ritual Studies teacher, Ibn, with a hint of surprise: “Teacher, when did you buy this?”
“Just a few months ago, after I met you,” Ibn sighed. “Originally, I intended to use it myself.”
“…Originally?”
“Then I thought, at my age… it’s probably not going to happen. I’m unlikely to ascend.
Ibn laughed carelessly, “There’s no point in wasting it, so I’ll let you use it.”
Eivass stared into Ibn’s eyes.
In the eyes of this old man from a foreign land, Eivass saw faint, flickering flames. The flames were very faint, as if an illusion… like gazing at the sun and then shifting one’s gaze, the sunlight leaving an indelible trace in the pupils.
—It was a well-hidden fire of anger.
He suddenly understood why it was after meeting him.
To be precise, it must have been after he revealed the name of the Demon Scholar who controlled the Hooked Demon and killed his parents… Ibn, unable to bear his inner anger and hatred, had gone to buy a dose of Drunken Dream T.
He was, after all, too weak.
After life stabilized, he had lost the desire to transcend. Thus, he could no longer ascend.
Ibn was a Curse Ritualist, not a “Great Shaman.” This indicated he was only at the Third Tier.
Advancing from the third to the fourth tier was the first major breakthrough, and Extraordinary Abilities would undergo a qualitative change at the Fourth Tier.
If Ibn returned to the Ancient Kingdom of Anxi at the Third Tier, he would likely be unable to do anything. At least becoming a Great Shaman would allow him to accomplish something.
Understanding Ibn’s thoughts, Eivass unhesitatingly pushed the Drunken Dream T back.
“—I still have one, Teacher. Lord Hermes once gave it to me as a gift.”
Eivass displayed the Drunken Dream T at his chest: “With my current status, I don’t lack such things… Not to mention, the Moriarty Family is not short of money.”
He looked at Ibn and softly spoke a name: “Aziz Ben Abdul… You probably haven’t forgotten this person’s name.
“I believe it’s more satisfying to seek revenge yourself. There’s no need to entrust it to me before you die.”
Eivass directly anticipated Ibn’s actions.
“…But you want me, an old man, to cross the desert?”
Ibn was somewhat helpless and said frankly and honestly, “I’ve actually thought about it. After learning about that guy from you, I’ve been thinking for a long time. But in the end, I felt that I might not be able to cross the desert.”
“That was in the past, Teacher.”
Eivass shook his head. “If you truly want to return to the Ancient Kingdom of Anxi, I can find Goblins to send you there.
“Goblins have always been in contact with those ‘Lords.’ Goblins purchase humans, elves, half-elves, and Lizardmen slaves, as well as a large amount of gold and treasures from the Lords, while the Lords regularly purchase a large number of Trolls from the Goblins. They definitely have fixed, secret trade channels.
“The only problem lies with you – whether you have the confidence to ascend in your old age.”
Eivass looked at Ibn, faint purple flames flickering in his eyes, his tone not forceful, but rather gentle: “I won’t stop you, no matter how dangerous this Ascension is for you. Transcending one’s lifespan and aging is also a form of transcendence of the heart… but I can assure you, whether you choose to ascend this time or succeed after ascending, I can arrange for someone to send you back to the Ancient Kingdom of Anxi.
“I’ll also speak with Her Majesty, and she will let you go.”
Upon hearing this, Ibn gazed at Eivass for a long time, his gaze shifting from cloudy to sharp, and then from sharp to soft.
The old man sighed helplessly.
“…Since you’ve said so much, if I back down now, how can I be your teacher? It would be embarrassing.”
Ibn’s lips curved slightly, and with a slightly trembling, withered hand, he put the Drunken Dream T back into his pocket.
Although he spoke words of complaint, the purple light in his cloudy, dim eyes rekindled.
He patted the Drunken Dream T in his pocket and proactively invited, “Want to do it together tonight, Eivass? I’ll open another ritual in my own bedroom when I get back.”
“If you join us, the difficulty might increase.”
Eivass warned.
“I know what you’re thinking, but don’t be afraid. I’m your teacher.”
Ibn replied indifferently, “As long as there are no completely overlapping Paths of Rejection, the Absent Seat Ritual won’t be triggered. Her Majesty and Sherlock don’t necessarily have to cooperate with me… We can diverge our Paths of Rejection, ensuring they are completely different, to guarantee no absent seat this time.
“—Don’t worry, Eivass. It’s fine for me to act alone… Trust the self-preservation abilities of a seventy-something-year-old Ritualist.”
“…Alright then.”
Eivass sighed, feeling somewhat relieved—at least his teacher had regained his spirit. He just needed to help keep an eye on him.
If Ibn were a Transcendent of any other Path, Eivass would never let him touch such a dangerous item.
But the current situation was different.
—Teacher Ibn was, after all, a Transcendent.
If a Transcendent lost the courage to transcend and died a mediocre death in bed, what kind of agonizing self-torture would that be… Although Eivass hadn’t experienced it, he could guess. Therefore, when Ibn proposed this dangerous “revenge” thought, Eivass did not stop him but instead offered assistance.
For others, it might be debatable—but for Transcendent beings, the decay of the spirit was more painful than physical torture. It was a denial of their entire life up to that point.
So Eivass asked Lily to retrieve a bottle of the finest red wine from the room, opened it, and poured himself a glass.
“The rest of this bottle is yours. Remember which Paths I’ve chosen.”
Eivass said with a smile, dropping his entire dose of Drunken Dream T into the wine.
As a tincture, this was its correct method of consumption.
While waiting for it to dissolve, Eivass picked up a lit incense stick and began chanting the incantations for the Full Moon Ritual.
“The Six bless me!”
He declared loudly, touching the six ritual crystals in sequence with the incense stick.
“Hourglass, Candlemaster, Great Philosopher, Silver Crown Dragon, Twin, Father of Snakes…
“—I venerate the Path of the Candlemaster.”
Eivass solemnly proclaimed.
Update complete, meow!
