Chapter 239: Is this also a skill?

Chapter 238 – This is also a skill?
All along, Heine had been pondering a question.

Why was there meta-spirit contamination?

Why would there be “abnormal deaths” of spirits?
How did the ashes of the spirit come about?
Why is it so chaotic and painful, so far removed from the omnipotent meta-material?
Though there were occasional answers from the mouths of others, as well as his own discoveries.

But they all seemed like scratching the surface, falling short of real answers.

And now, as he delved deeper into comparing the Riworld and the Underworld, and came into contact with more meta-spirits, an answer gradually took shape in his mind.

The answer was oppression.

Psionics or not, spells or not, these were all realized through the Yuan Spirit.

And the meta-spirit in this world was not as simple as just the base particles.

It was more like some sort of miniature life.

Since it was a life, it would be tired, sleepy, hungry, bored, and in pain.

He could also ignore their pain and enslave them, forcing them to work for him.

But because of this, a great deal of black slime had accumulated over the long course of its use.

Apparently, the mages either actively or passively ignored the feelings of the metahumans, which allowed the magic net to be so convenient and fast.

As well as cheap.

It was hard for him not to wonder if perhaps at some point the man at the helm of Veritas had also regretted his initial decision.

Just think about it, if the magic web was energy consuming, how many energizing stones would be consumed by a magic web that covered almost the entire landmass?

At least the mages of Veritas didn’t.

That was why Heine was clear that he must not make the same mistake.

But Veritas had become what it was today.

Heine: “Then try to use it.”

Trying to whore out the Yuanling?
Heine was the first to say no!

But not everyone would care about that.

This is where many of the samples, including the mirror, were built.

That’s why he made everyone who was active in the Magic Web pay mental power for their presence.

In this way, the nascent McCalla Mountain Region was able to save a large amount of money and develop as if it were on a rocket.

The group of spellcasters had initially been assembled to practice Sebitiga’s will to explore the truth.

…

It was clear to Heine that he could do that as well.

As Karl had said at first, the mages had invited disaster for themselves.

“Do you understand?”

“Yes, my lord!”

On top of that, they had to pay for their spiritual energy as well with the power of the genjutsu.

By then, the Makara Mountain Region had become a community of interest, and his single-mindedness would inevitably bring about the opposition of the others, followed by internal friction, as well as self-destruction.

Leaving the space for exploration to the crowd entering the place for the first time, Heine brought Gam to the small meta-spirit printer.

Inevitably, it would not.

Gam stood at attention and exclaimed, “I’ve memorized it all!”

The shipping port was connected to the cabinet in the real-world conference room.

Gamm looked at him blankly, “Understand what?”

It was no different than the machine in the mine by Granite Town.

He couldn’t help but think of Veritas.

Genestealers were both weak and naive, and tricking them was simply the easiest thing in the world.

Heine went over how to use this place, and then asked Gam:

Maybe sometime in the future, he’ll have a guilty conscience and think back to those little ones who shouted “Welcome~” and “Thank you~” to him.

Just like he was standing at the crossroads of fate at the moment.

What could he do then?
Would he give up the immediate benefits and slow down the development?

Gam walked over to the console and put his hands against it, mouthing the words.

The flat operating table, half a man high, was connected by pipes to a fireplace with a roaring silver flame.

As far as Heine knew all about the magic net – the thing didn’t need to be recharged.

Heine was speechless.

“I was just talking about how to use this device, did you understand?”

Their original purpose must have been pure and noble, I imagine.

“Enter the console!”

And then-

Bam!
He was caught off guard and slammed headfirst into this countertop, his head splitting apart like a glass bottle, turning into silver shards that flew in all directions.

Holy shit!
The Heine was dumbfounded!

“I told you to dip your senses into the console, I didn’t tell you to enter it!”

Yet Gam clearly couldn’t hear him at that.

He was physically shattered in the inner world and disconnected directly.

Heine hurriedly chased after him.

In the conference room of the real world, Gam was sitting on the floor with a nosebleed, both eyes somewhat out of focus.

Emerald green life energy floated in Linumu’s hand, and he held out a finger while healing him.

“Look, how many is this?”

Gam froze, “Two …… three?”

Heine: “Is he okay?”

“I can’t say he’s fine …… except that he just fell out of his chair and hit his head hard on the floor.”

Linumu had a puzzled expression, “But why the nosebleed?”

Heine thought to himself I don’t know how to explain it, in short, he should not be too hard on his own soul. At this moment, there was a “bam” sound from behind him.

Heine suddenly turned around, incredulously looking at the cabinet.

No way,……

He walked over and opened the door, from which he took out a …… silver skull.

It was the same size as Gam’s head.

And look at the brain, the outline, the lines ……

This thing really could be Gamm’s cranium print ……

“What’s this?”

The wood elf looked dumbfounded as well.

How is it that the meeting room of the lord’s mansion still has this hidden in it?

What do you mean, George used to be a necromancer too?

“It’s harder to explain ……”

Heine gulped:
“As you just heard, this guy has a talent for resisting soul attacks that’s hard for normal people to match, so I tried to get him to turn ‘undisturbed peace of mind’ into a spell, and I got the current one… …Why don’t you try it?”

“Huh?”

Linumu hesitantly took the skull.

It was light in the hand and looked clean.

Aside from being a little scary looking, it didn’t smell evil in the slightest.

His perception swept through it, and there was no abnormal fluctuation on it either.

“But how am I going to use it?” He asked.

“Let go of the resistance and let it integrate into your soul.”

“Okay. ……”

Linumu calmed himself.

Soon, his consciousness sank into a pitch-black space.

He had a strong feeling that if he struggled to break free, he could leave this place immediately.

But intense curiosity made him continue to stay here.

Soon, everything in front of him brightened up.

He saw his younger self – an elfin child with not yet many folds on his face.

Himself learning the Jungle School of Thorns.

The childish face was covered with beads of sweat and bloody marks scraped by thorns.

As if he were an emotionless third viewer, he quietly watched as “himself” fell to the ground again and again with his mental energy depleted, and then got up again.

The scene was familiar, but not from his childhood.

Because he didn’t know this kind of spell back then.

But he clearly remembered a stern instructor urging him on at this time.

Sure enough, in the next second, an aged wood elf appeared next to the child:
“Linumu, you are the stupidest trainee tree herder I have ever seen!”

Snap!
A whip cracked on himself.

Linumu felt a fiery pain-though he didn’t even have a torso.

But the pain was exceptionally real.

He remembered, all of it ……

This was the vision he had seen when he was promoted to the fifth level!

Unsurprisingly, what followed was endless pressure and humiliation.

Sure enough, the stern old man spoke.

He began to laugh at Linumu’s stupidity, berating him for his laxity and cursing him for his lack of responsibility.

He spoke of the dire situation facing the wood elves today, talking about the blight, as if everything was Linumu’s fault.

His words were so heartbreaking that Linumu was overwhelmed with a strong sense of guilt.

“One generation is worse than the next!”

Linumu remembers begging for forgiveness in a near-breakdown at the end.

Since then, he has gained the wisdom of his predecessors.

His mastery of the forces of nature has skyrocketed, and as a result, he has joined the Society of the Sacred Healer to campaign for a solution to the Blight.

However, he was always plagued by this heavy weight of self-doubt and guilt.

This was true of every Tree Shepherd who had advanced to the fifth level; the Blight had been brought about by them, and it had to be ended by their own hands.

What the predecessors could not do, they could only rely on the wisdom of those who came after them.

This is namely the contamination caught in the power of nature.

If he is unable to solve it, he will become part of the will, just like the old man in the vision, thus affecting more of those who come after him.

But even though he had such a clear perception at this moment, that long-lost feeling still came through along with the pain.

He began to feel uneasy, guilty, and anxious.

He was weighed down with a heavy burden.

This is how he spent every second of his life before he decided to become a follower of Heine.

Only his long stay in the mountains of Makara had made him forget that.

Just then, an unexpected person appeared in the picture.

It was Gamu ……

He strides towards the old elf who is reprimanding little Linumu.

And then-

Bang!
Gam went up and punched him.

“No hitting children!”

(End of chapter)