Chapter 26: Current Drive
After Joshua and the others returned to Moldavia, they truly rested for quite some time.
There were no administrative affairs, no cultists, no magical beasts, no evil dragons, and no administrative affairs. Everything was incredibly peaceful. Even the winter wheat harvest was excellent, as if calamity had already left the northern lands.
As for why there were no administrative affairs, it was because the Lord's Manor had delegated authority, handing over specific management rights to the personnel under the newly established city council. Over a dozen managers who had originally been in charge of the city guard, mediating disputes, and overseeing engineering projects became part of the official administration.
Lin, who had always been busy, was finally liberated from endless paperwork. The management method of handing everything over to the lord to handle might satisfy personal desires for power and control, but it was actually a very unscientific and unhealthy management approach. The youth, who had been busy for several years, welcomed Joshua's push for administrative reform with open arms, then promptly collapsed into bed for a few days, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of relaxation.
As for Ying, she had recently been wandering around the Nissier Snow Mountain area, getting along famously with over a dozen young white dragons. It was fortunate those white dragons didn't know that their parents had been slain by the greatsword into which this cute silver-haired young lady had transformed; otherwise, they wouldn't have dared to approach her even with ten thousand courage.
Chu Hao, who had always been exceptionally low-key, remained so. According to the old dwarf Morira, Chu Hao had contributed greatly to opening up the subway transportation route. It had driven away many powerful underground magical beasts and, through its steel-element characteristics, eliminated most rock and mineral obstacles along the tunnel path.
As for Number 3, after receiving the engraving, she had been staying in the secret room on the second floor of the Lord's Manor. She was likely inside her main body, comprehending the knowledge within the engraving.
As for Joshua, he spent this time organizing his gains.
This trip into the Divine Calamity Mist had yielded considerable results. First, he had found the method to advance to Soul's Ultimate Essence. Second, he had learned how to view his own divinity.
According to Joshua's understanding, divinity was something akin to a cancer cell lodged in the soul—neither good nor evil. Its power was so great that it could even erode the material world in reverse, imprinting divine patterns onto his bones. If divinity couldn't be controlled, it would spread like cancer cells, turning the entire soul into itself, becoming a manifestation of the multiverse's source power. At that point, Joshua would become a true agent of destruction, an incarnation of battle.
But if it could be controlled, integrating the characteristics of divinity into one's own soul could elevate the soul into something like a deity—powerful and indestructible, capable of passing down a 'Divine Calamity Mist' even after dying for a thousand years.
Beyond that, Joshua also needed to help Number 3 analyze the knowledge within the Geer Engraving. Although he wasn't very knowledgeable about magic, he was a grandmaster-level expert in life force and energy control. Number 3 would occasionally project herself to ask the warrior questions on these matters.
As for Black... that black dragon, since everyone was resting leisurely and no one was supervising her, had secretly slipped back to the Nissier Snow Mountain. According to Ying, she spent her days suddenly popping out in her black dragon form, scaring the little white dragons for fun.
Joshua was, of course, aware of all this—he just couldn't be bothered to deal with her. In a few days, when he had time, he would definitely teach that little female dragon how he used to train the martial arts hall students until they cried for their parents and begged for mercy.
Right now, the warrior was staring at the system interface that had inexplicably appeared before his retina. Joshua had already given up trying to find the system's origin. If it appeared, he would just use it for now. At the center of this identification interface, a peculiar runic engraving shaped like a pair of wings was constantly spinning, releasing a hazy glow.
This was an engraving shimmering with a faint cyan light. Its image resembled a pair of unfolding wings, and every feather on those wings was composed of countless divine power runes. They were interlocked and constantly shifting, the entire engraving transforming its form without pause, like the wind.
[Heavenly Wild Storm — Mythic · Unique]
[Divine Gift Relic]
[Holder: Number 3]
[Divine Favor: Divine protection knows no place, time, life, death, or race. The holder is immune to all negative spells below the Ultimate rank, all hostile spells below the Gold rank, the vast majority of negative states, the vast majority of soul-type spells, curses, instant death, and greatly reduces the rate of chaos erosion.]
[— Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified, for wherever you go, the protection of the gods will be with you.]
[King of the Winged: The king of the Winged.]
[— From Mycroft to Carlis, as long as there is one Winged, as long as there is one...]
[Lord of the Sky: The great winds of the atmosphere are mine to command. The holder possesses the ability to fly freely, is immune to air-type spells below the Ultimate rank, and can command air-type magic power determined by rank. Three times per day, summon a wind elemental giant. Once every ten days, summon a wind elemental titan.]
[— The scepter of sky dominion, the cornerstone of the hurricane throne.]
[Description: A divine gift relic, entrusted to one who has completed the trial and been acknowledged by the gods. The holder is the next king of the Winged, the future ruler of the sky.]
[— Legend says that atop the high peak of Sibalt, there is a path leading to the sky: "So short?"]
"What do you mean 'only'?" William said discontentedly. "Please respect the breadth of knowledge of the two people before you—when it comes to the depth and richness of ancient knowledge, in the entire Mycroft World, either I'm first, or it's Baniel."
"That's right. If I claim first, then William is second." Baniel shamelessly pointed to his own head. "In here, I've recorded over a hundred thousand magic books and ancient texts!"
— Hmph. Joshua looked at the two with a calm expression.
A Rune Master at Force's Ultimate Essence, a Mind Master who hadn't broken through to Soul's Ultimate Essence.
Although the warrior hadn't said a single word and remained silent throughout, the two legendary mages across from him both felt as if a wave of immense malice was washing over them. But since they had already started a new game, their attention was quickly drawn back to the card table.
One of them murmured softly, "Speaking of which, that color-changing liquid crystal and information transmission organ we found in the Writhing Forest seems like it could be partially used on this game table. It should greatly reduce the cost of this magical device."
"Good idea, my friend. Playing against just you alone is getting a bit tiresome."
"Speaking of which, what about the ancient dragon? Didn't you calculate the coordinates of the world where the ancient dragon is located last time? Why haven't you started yet?"
Hearing the two begin to play cards, taunt each other, and use various means to cheat, Joshua couldn't help but ask—this was also why he had come to the airship above the Writhing Forest. The warrior wanted to know when they would go find that ancient dragon. He hadn't come to watch two legendary mages play cards.
"The ancient dragon has hidden the coordinates of its world. We can't go for now."
William played a card, speaking succinctly: "It used powerful source magic to block all information transmission from that world. Right now, in the multiverse, we can only sense a patch of spatial turbulence."
"But there will come a time when it can't hide."
Baniel controlled his minion to attack William, the old man also speaking succinctly: "The ancient dragon's magic power isn't infinite. According to estimates, half a month is its limit."
At this point, the two spoke in unison: "That will be the best time to set out."
Hearing this, Joshua sat back in his chair and shrugged. "Fine. Who knows why I, the one called in to help, am more enthusiastic than you two principals."
Meanwhile, in an unknown world, the Chronos Mountains, a dragonman village.
"Mr. Syndicate! Mr. Syndicate!"
In a sturdy stone hut, the excited shouts of a girl could be clearly heard from outside. This made the Celestial Slime... the great flame demon Syndicate, who had been lying on the desk seriously reading a book, tremble all over and accidentally get himself stuck between the pages.
When Lisa returned from outside, she saw the half-closed book on the desk. Happily opening it, she placed the dejected flame demon on her palm. The dragonman girl's tail wagged excitedly as she said, "I've awakened! Not much, but the elder told me I've awakened!"
"...Is that so? That's normal, after all, I've been helping you all along."
Syndicate felt very tired. He originally thought he was reckless enough, but now it seemed the girl before him was even more so. Mortals' lives were truly easy, far too superior to the environment of the abyss. The greater demon thought helplessly, then said softly, "We agreed to keep my existence a secret. How could you start shouting at the doorstep? Luckily, I can sense that there's no one within several hundred meters. Otherwise, your father would definitely be running around with an axe looking for this suddenly appearing 'Mr. Syndicate,' the bastard spying on his daughter, and give me a good chop."
"No, he wouldn't. When the time comes, I'll definitely explain to my father that you helped me achieve my initial awakening!"
Lisa shook her head seriously, but then sighed softly, "Unfortunately, it's only an initial awakening. The elder said my bloodline awakening has only awakened less than one-tenth. Compared to ordinary awakeners, I'm still a bit weak... But I'll definitely improve gradually. One day, I will become the strongest demon hunter with my bloodline fully awakened!"
"It's good that you have this determination..."
Syndicate didn't know how to talk to Lisa either. He could only speak in a tone devoid of emotional fluctuation: "I was just reading your dragonman history and reached a critical part. Can you put me down for now?"
"Also, that technique I prayed to the sovereign for and then taught you—how much have you learned?"
"Oh, okay, Mr. Syndicate!"
Compared to the beginning, when she regarded Syndicate as some strange creature, Lisa now, due to the fact of her bloodline awakening, trusted this peculiar, self-proclaimed great demon cute slime more and more. She gave maximum support to his actions, whether it was learning the dragonman language or letting him read the collected books. While placing Syndicate back on the desk, she clenched her fist, her eyes shining brightly: "As for that technique, I've almost mastered it!"
"Current Drive... I've already experienced its powerful strength!"