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Chapter 326: The Awakening of the World and the Binding of the Home
🕑 Added 2024-10-12 06:27:01 +0000 UTC“No!”
The screen before Rhett gradually faded away.
After watching the simulation, Rhett couldn’t help but stop mid-flight, hovering in place as he frowned deeply in thought.
"It seems that now, with the mastery of all Earth elemental mysticisms, as long as I can end the fight quickly, even the Blood God Patriarch isn't my match... However, this guy's ability to escape is still too strong, with that strange blood power repeatedly helping him escape one peril after another."
"And to make matters worse, after escaping, he immediately turns around and collaborates with the orcs. Truly insidious... but I suppose it's not unexpected—there are no eternal friends, only eternal interests. Since he couldn't gain anything from me, it's only natural he'd seek a new ally..."
Having quickly sorted out these new developments, Rhett found himself in a dilemma.
At this point, Rhett had reached the pinnacle of power in this world, with no further room for improvement. Yet, even with his current strength, facing the Orc King at his peak, the Blood God Patriarch, and numerous Saint-level orcs working together, he still found it difficult to fight on all fronts. The final battle was already underway, and nothing could halt its course. Despite the arduous path ahead, he had to persevere until the very end!
Rhett continued simulating in place a few more times, this time primarily aiming to find a safe escape route after annihilating the orc race.
Finally, after five simulations, he managed to successfully escape the encirclement and safely regroup with the main human forces, avoiding the deadly trap.
Logically, he should have continued simulating for a few more years to see what kind of resistance the remaining dozen or so Saint-level orcs and the few surviving scattered orcs, along with the Blood God Patriarch, might put up. He also needed to gauge the losses on both sides and how the battles would unfold.
However, remembering that the simulation had already indicated that as he approached the near extinction of the orc race, his comprehension of mysticisms had significantly accelerated, Rhett understood that the world's consciousness was indeed awakening—or at least the world’s essence was improving. Rhett couldn’t precisely describe what was happening, but he knew it was a good sign. Therefore, he had been waiting, anticipating the moment when the orcs would be driven to near extinction to see if the binding of his home would bring about a turning point...
With this thought, Rhett's resolve strengthened. He quickly descended and landed on the ground. At that moment, Taylors, who was playing with the flowing water by a babbling stream, saw a yellow streak of light in the sky through the reflection in the water. His face lit up with joy as he turned and waved:
“Father, I’m over here! Where are we going next? The Ice Kingdom or Rem Kingdom?”
Rhett ruffled Taylors' hair. “Let’s go to the Rem Kingdom first.”
“The Rem Kingdom? And then the Ice Kingdom?” Taylors grinned. “With your current strength, Father, you should be able to cleanse the entire world, right? Hmm, will I get to see you crowned king?”
To this question, Rhett responded with a silent smile. After a moment, he said, “Once we’ve cleared the orcs from the areas surrounding the Rem Kingdom, I’ll arrange for you to stay at the Circular High Tower. What do you think?”
“What about you? Are you going to do something dangerous?” Taylors’ eyes darted around, guessing that if his father wasn’t taking him along, it was probably because there might be intense battles ahead where he couldn’t afford distractions. With this in mind, he anxiously asked.
“It’s not dangerous; it’s something much greater.”
“Alright, I trust you’ll succeed, Father. But can you tell me what the surprise you promised is now?” Taylors asked with wide, expectant eyes.
“I’ll try… within a month…”
Two days later.
At the top of the Circular High Tower.
Four Saint-level powerhouses stood on the rooftop, their powerful auras swirling around them as they exchanged glances. Their clothes fluttered in the wind, producing a rustling sound.
Three of them had their gazes firmly fixed on Rhett, and despite their experience and composure as Saints, they couldn’t help but widen their eyes in disbelief, struggling to process what Rhett had just revealed—he had comprehended all Earth-element mysticisms!
Rhett's expression was calm. In front of him, the air shimmered with an earthy yellow hue as Earth elements coalesced into a circular ring. Initially, it had a flowing sand-like appearance, resonating with the aura of the Scatter Mysticism, but it quickly solidified into a ring of unbreakable rock!
The three Saints stared at the Earth element infused with mysticisms, their eyes filled with complex emotions dominated by shock. Before they could fully grasp the situation, the rock ring emitted a distorted, blurry light and a low, buzzing sound.
Seeing this, the King of Rem's pupils contracted slightly. This was the Resonance Mysticism! As an Earth-element Saint Knight, he was intimately familiar with this technique, one of his trump cards. But judging by the frequency and intensity of the resonance, Rhett’s mastery clearly surpassed his own. When Rhett claimed that all his mysticisms had reached perfection, it was likely no exaggeration!
Hephastos and the other Saint exchanged a glance, their eyelids twitching slightly as they regarded Rhett as if he were some kind of monster. They held their breath, their tense muscles betraying their effort to remain composed.
The next moment, the Earth-element ring floated into the air like a flaming yellow hoop. In the sky, a green bird flapped its wings, its curiosity piqued. It shot towards the ring like an arrow, but just as it reached the center, its body abruptly halted as if caught by some invisible force. It let out a frightened cry, unable to break free.
"Gravity Space…" Hephastos murmured, tilting his head back to observe the scene.
But in the next instant, the bird's cry was cut off. Just as it was trapped within the stone ring, it vanished in a flash of an unfamiliar power, leaving nothing behind.
"Disintegration Mysticism…" the other Saint said, enunciating each word carefully, as the hand hidden within his mage robe clenched tightly.
Hephastos closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. When he reopened them, there was a strange gleam in his gaze.
“Rhett… No wonder I sensed something extraordinary about you when we first met, yet you seemed no different from anyone else to my senses.”
“It wasn’t until today, when you revealed yourself as the World's Chosen, that everything clicked into place. The strange occurrences around you suddenly became much clearer… With the world's blessing, it’s no wonder your path to transcendence has been so smooth…”
“With your current strength, you could likely handle all of us with one hand. It’s truly enviable…”
The King of Rem remained silent, but even he had to admit that, together, they might not stand a chance against Rhett. His expression was conflicted as he looked at Rhett, exhaling softly as he said:
“When you arrived, you mentioned needing our help. Tell us, how can we assist you…”
Rhett pondered for a moment, walking to the edge of the rooftop as his voice carried on the wind to the others:
“Actually, before coming here, we had already won a major victory at the Coldstream Line in the Ginlund Kingdom. I also helped the Gray Ruins Kingdom eradicate the orcs from their defensive lines, which amounted to tens of thousands.”
The three Saints were once again shocked, but considering Rhett's current power, accomplishing such feats seemed unsurprising. As Saints, they had a clear understanding of combat strength. The more mysticisms one mastered, the more flexible and powerful their combat style became. The increase in combat effectiveness wasn't just additive but exponential.
“You’re all aware that opportunities like this are rare. The sunset is beautiful, but the night approaches. If we fail to strike back now and defeat the orcs, once the light fades, we’ll be left with nothing to sustain us. This world will be plunged into darkness, with no one left to carry on, and we’ll be at the mercy of the orcs!”
The King of Rem exhaled deeply, his initial shock giving way to a furrowed brow as he cautiously asked:
“You're suggesting that our kingdoms unite to launch a full-scale attack on the orcs?”
Hephastos and the other Saint also furrowed their brows, though they relaxed a moment later. Speaking in a grave tone, Hephastos added:
“Strategically, that seems to be the right course. However, those in the Ice Kingdom may be reluctant to join a full assault. Their mindset is overly cautious, favoring a unified defense only after suffering a heavy blow from the orcs…”
Rhett shook his head, remaining silent for a couple of minutes as he carefully considered his words. He was about to suggest they cooperate with him to clear the orcs around the Rem Kingdom when suddenly, he felt a disturbance in his mental sea!
“Hmm?”
Rhett’s expression shifted as he immediately fell silent, his mind diving into his consciousness. He found that the white orb representing his home, which usually rested quietly in his mental sea, was now trembling slightly.
The moment he focused his attention on the orb, it emitted several tendril-like beams of light that quickly shot out of his mental sea and into the external world. Rhett’s eyes widened in shock, but when he looked outward, he saw that the beams had already dissipated into nothingness, as if nothing had happened at all.
However, this anomaly left Rhett feeling uneasy. He turned to glance at the others. They seemed to be waiting for his response, their expressions unchanged, giving him some relief.
But just then, the King of Rem's face showed a flicker of surprise. Rhett caught the subtle shift in expression, and his heart sank. Had they noticed something?
Soon after, the other two also showed signs of curiosity and confusion.
Rhett became even more convinced of his suspicions. His mind raced to come up with a plausible excuse to cover up the incident.
“Rhett, did you feel that? The difficulty in comprehending mysticisms suddenly seemed to ease…”
As the King of Rem spoke, he closed his eyes, immersing himself in the flow of mysticisms.
“Indeed, I felt it too. The flow of mysticisms has become clearer. This isn’t a small change; it’s about on par with what we experienced two hundred years ago…” Hephastos said, his voice tinged with excitement and wonder.
Rhett paused, then relaxed internally. It seemed they had only noticed the change in the mysticisms, not his secret… That was a relief.
Having focused on the disturbances in his mental sea, Rhett hadn’t noticed the changes in his surroundings until the others pointed them out. Now, as he extended his spiritual senses to feel the evolution of Earth elemental mysticisms, a strange gleam appeared in his eyes. Indeed, his understanding had deepened. Considering the current date, it was likely that Ankuss and the three Saints had already annihilated the orc reinforcements at the Coldstream Line.
“But what’s causing the disturbance with my home?”
As soon as Rhett entertained this question, a flash of light appeared before his eyes, followed by a screen materializing in front of him. Rhett stared at it in stunned disbelief!
[The World’s Consciousness has awakened, and the Home is beginning to bind.]
[Binding in progress…]
“Only after killing tens of thousands of orcs, and the world’s consciousness has begun to awaken?”
Rhett blinked in surprise. Once he processed the situation, his feelings became a mixture of doubt, joy, and excitement.
He remained on the rooftop, pretending to be lost in thought while patiently waiting for the binding process to finish.
However, after ten minutes passed and the screen remained stuck on [Binding in progress…], Rhett realized that the binding between his home and the world wouldn’t be a quick process. How long it would take was unknown, so he decided to seek answers.
With a thought, Rhett focused his mind on the glowing orb in his mental sea, entering the simulation space.
The simulation space was still an empty void, dark and silent. However, as its master, Rhett could sense a mysterious energy seeping in, filling the emptiness. This was a deep-level transformation, invisible to the naked eye.
Sensing Rhett’s presence, a light appeared in the void, rapidly forming into a figure. The familiar face of the glowing elder smiled at Rhett and said:
“Rhett, welcome back. It seems your plan succeeded. I can feel that this space has been affected by a mysterious force. This process feels quite familiar—I experienced something similar when I first bound the World’s Consciousness to this space.”
“However, while the process is familiar, the force at work is somewhat foreign to me. Based on my experience, I’d say the difference lies in the nature of the world’s essence or consciousness, so the impact on the simulation space is naturally different.”
Rhett stroked his chin, nodding in agreement. “That makes sense. Do you remember how long it took for the home to bind with the world’s consciousness last time?”
The glowing elder thought for a moment, his brows furrowing as he recalled. “I’m not entirely sure, but I believe it took a few hours. I distinctly remember entering the simulation world that same night to begin my exploration and research.”
“I recall you mentioned last time that the simulation world would form based on the local world and could even lock onto historical world nodes?” Rhett pondered aloud. “I forgot to ask last time—how many Destiny Points does it cost to use the simulation space?”
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