Anime Magic Card Era

Chapter 134: Chapter 133: Spirit-Value Aegis, Binding the Reincarnated Goddess!

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「 Spirit-Value Aegis: The sole special-type Crescent Moon Blessing, obtained by linking to Ancient Spirit Tree tree-spirit Celestine’s memory Spirit Core. Self damage immunity increased by 30%. Life-force recovery speed increased by 300%. When life force drops below 30%, activates the Spirit-Value Shield, resisting all attacks for ten seconds. Both linked parties may, ignoring distance and space, perform cost-free two-way summoning. 」

"Another Crescent Moon Blessing!" Luke was stunned. This was something he hadn’t anticipated at the start, and it was a sole special-type blessing besides, which meant that even if other people entered Crescent Moon Land in the future, none of them could ever obtain the Spirit-Value Aegis blessing again.

Of course, Victor had mentioned before that every Card Master who entered Crescent Moon Land received a different Crescent Moon Blessing, so there was no need to worry about two Card Masters obtaining the same one.

Zero Hour Stray was already plenty formidable for Luke at his current stage, but compared to Spirit-Value Aegis, it still fell well short.

Damage immunity, increased life-force recovery, and ten seconds of invincibility, to say nothing of the rest. This was practically engineering him into an undying cockroach. Slap this skill onto a defensive card spirit and it would be a top-tier divine skill, no question.

For a Card Master, of course, ensuring one’s own survival was the single most important thing in combat. The moment a Card Master fell, even the strongest card spirit would dissipate along with them, rendered utterly meaningless.

But the greatest value of Spirit-Value Aegis was that it let him perform two-way summoning with Celestine.

"Does this count as binding myself and Celestine together?" Luke couldn’t help rubbing his forehead. Come to think of it, isn’t this basically the equivalent of carrying a strategic-grade nuclear threat around with me?

That was only Luke’s own framing, naturally. He couldn’t exactly issue commands to Celestine by force.

"Spirit-Value Aegis." Celestine’s gentle voice sounded, pulling Luke back to himself. "Even I didn’t anticipate, at the outset, that you’d be capable of obtaining this blessing."

I didn’t just obtain this one. I got a Zero Hour Stray on top of it. Hearing Celestine’s words, a strange feeling rose in Luke. It seemed she wasn’t aware that what he’d obtained was a double blessing.

Either way, Luke felt certain that both Zero Hour Stray and Spirit-Value Aegis were connected to his absorbing the memory fragments a moment ago. There was just one point he still didn’t quite understand: why had he linked to Celestine’s Spirit Core?

"Crescent Moon Land was originally a dimensional plane, transformed from the world where the Ancient Spirit Tree once existed, after that world collapsed." Seeming to read Luke’s confusion, Celestine explained as she drifted toward him. "Across this vast span of time, I, as the tree-spirit, have remained within Crescent Moon Land all along, gathering the shattered and incomplete World Rules, until they eventually took shape as the memory fragments."

As she spoke, Celestine arrived directly in front of Luke. She lifted her peerless, delicate face and looked straight at him. "In truth, as a World Tree, my main body is itself a manifestation of World Rules. In a certain sense, I, too, am a kind of memory fragment."

Perhaps because the two of them were now linked, Celestine had developed an inexpressible sense of trust toward Luke, and slowly disclosed the secret of her own nature.

"So you’re saying that when a Card Master draws memory fragments to obtain a Crescent Moon Blessing, there’s actually a chance of drawing the Spirit-Value Aegis blessing as well?" Hearing Celestine out, Luke raised an eyebrow.

"That’s right," Celestine said with a nod. "But compared to the memory fragments, my Spirit Core is far more complete. Add to that the traits of a World Tree, and under normal conditions, not even an Undying Realm or Supreme existence could link to my Spirit Core."

"In fact, the possibility shouldn’t exist at all." At this, Celestine couldn’t help frowning, a thread of bewilderment in her voice. "So why is it that you were able to do it?"

That, too, was the point Celestine had been unable to make sense of.

"Probably because my luck happens to be pretty good," Luke said with a shrug, perfectly composed. He understood full well that the system had a great deal to do with it, but he wasn’t about to disclose that secret.

"It does seem that way." Yet to Luke’s explanation, Celestine appeared to genuinely give credence. After all, Luke had drawn an entire ocean of gold fragments from the Memory Interstice, and luck like that didn’t look remotely like an ordinary person’s.

"Ah." Faced with that, Luke wasn’t quite sure how to respond. He suddenly found that the Celestine before him was rather endearing.

A thought stirred, and Luke spoke again. "You said a moment ago that you’ve remained in Crescent Moon Land all this time, this entire stretch?"

The formation of a dimensional plane required an immense span of years, so even though Luke didn’t know Celestine’s age, he could guess the scale of time involved was genuinely staggering. Joining the ranks of immortals, being fed by the heavens, all of it had to bow its head before the sheer span of time it took a dimensional plane to take shape.

Celestine’s main body might be a World Tree, but over the brief time Luke had been interacting with her, he’d found that, more than a tree-spirit, Celestine resembled an ordinary woman, with little difference between her and a normal person.

If he’d been the one stuck in a place this devoid of any living thing for so unimaginably long, Luke felt he’d have gone mad without question.

"I was born as the tree-spirit of the Ancient Spirit Tree, and the Ancient Spirit Tree is rooted in Crescent Moon Land. For that reason, I’ve lived within Crescent Moon Land all these years." Celestine nodded.

By the time she’d developed sentience, Crescent Moon Land had already held no living beings at all. She hadn’t even had a single companion to talk to.

Celestine hadn’t paid it much mind originally. Even when Card Masters entered Crescent Moon Land each year to obtain a Crescent Moon Blessing, she hadn’t shown herself, communicating with them only through the Ancient Spirit Tree’s main body.

This time, it was solely because Luke had set his sights on her main body that Celestine had chosen to appear.

"Is that so? In that case, would you want to leave Crescent Moon Land, to go see the outside world?" With the Spirit-Value Aegis blessing, Luke could summon Celestine at any time. If she didn’t mind, he was willing to let this tree-spirit get a look at how rich and varied the outside world could be.

His one trip to Crescent Moon Land had, after all, netted him gains beyond anything he could have imagined.

"Is that possible?" Celestine tilted her head, and her expression in that moment was indescribably endearing. As the linked party to the Crescent Moon Blessing, Celestine likewise understood the effects of the Spirit-Value Aegis skill clearly.

As for the outside world, Celestine wouldn’t say she was intensely curious, but given the chance, she did genuinely want to see it for herself. Unfortunately, just as she’d said, under the Ancient Spirit Tree’s influence, she’d never been able to leave Crescent Moon Land.

But now, because of Luke, that possibility had appeared.

"I don’t know. But without trying, who could say?" Luke shrugged. He wasn’t promising it would absolutely work, given that he’d only just obtained the Spirit-Value Aegis blessing, but a single attempt wouldn’t kill anyone.

"Then I’ll wait for you." Gazing deeply at Luke, Celestine spoke the words quietly.

"Day two already?" Leaving Crescent Moon Land and returning to the Magic Card Civilization’s main plane, Luke found that the sky outside had turned yellow, and understood that he’d lingered in Crescent Moon Land for over a day. He’d entered Crescent Moon Land deep in the night, after all, and now dusk was approaching. Short of time flowing backward, there was no way he was still inside the same day.

After Luke’s return, the Crescent Moon Token in his hand completed its purpose as well, cracking into two halves and dropping to the ground. Evidently, that too was a kind of safeguard.

This single trip to Crescent Moon Land could only be called a resounding success.

He’d not only unlocked the system’s Second Authority hidden effect, but also obtained the two Crescent Moon Blessings, Zero Hour Stray and Spirit-Value Aegis, and even ended up bound to Celestine, whose strength reached who-knew-what level. It was unlikely any Card Master after him would ever manage what Luke had.

"Let me fill my stomach first." Over a day without eating, and Luke could feel the complaints rising from his stomach. After a quick wash in the bathroom, he headed downstairs.

Zero Hour Stray could refresh his states, but it clearly wasn’t midnight yet.