Chapter 177: Spiritual-Desire Coexistence: Source Material Harmonization

Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Spiritual-Desire Coexistence: Source Material Harmonization

Fortunately, Lance was fast. The shockwave of the explosion only sent him tumbling a few times, and he didn’t suffer any serious burns.

Just as he was lying on the ground, thinking he was definitely going to die here tonight,

he looked up.

To his surprise, the Elf Female Mage showed no intention of pursuing him.

Hill, her face flushed, scrambled up from the ground in a fluster. Without even glancing at Lance, she rushed to the stone slab and scooped up the still-dazed Cecilia.

With a brilliant flash of light,

an unknown Space Teleportation Spell activated. The two of them vanished on the spot, leaving only lingering Ethereal Fluctuations in the air.

The battle was over.

Lance slowly deactivated his Dragon Form.

He sat in the scorched courtyard, looking at the house behind him, which had been engulfed in a sea of flames. A bitter smile crept onto his lips.

He never would have thought that what was meant to be a quiet birthday celebration for Cecilia would end in such a disaster.

’Great,’ he thought. ’Not only is my house gone, but I’ll probably have to pay a hefty fine tomorrow morning.’

But as he calmed down and carefully replayed the confrontation in his mind,

Lance realized that Cecilia’s aunt had never intended to harm him from the very beginning.

Whether it was the initial Binding Spell that pinned him to the wall or the final Bursting Fireball that blew up the house,

she had deliberately avoided targeting his vital points when casting them.

Otherwise, with her terrifying power, which was at least two or three Major Tiers above his,

that Third-Ring Bursting Fireball alone could have probably tracked him with pinpoint accuracy for over three miles, like it had eyes of its own, and blown him into a pile of well-done mincemeat.

’She was probably just blowing off steam. Aren’t Elves supposed to have long lifespans? To be that old and still have a childish temper...?’

Back then, in his Dragon Form,

he had been furious seeing Cecilia’s condition.

His instincts had completely taken over his body, and all he could think about was fighting back, never once considering the consequences.

’I guess this is the price of impulsiveness.’

However, the whole fiasco wasn’t without its rewards.

At the very least, he had confirmed a very important piece of information through this practical combat experience.

The Research Traits obtained from Half-Elves were also partially effective on Pure-blood Elves.

Although he could clearly sense that Hill’s reaction to inhaling the steam wasn’t as exaggerated or absurd as Cecilia’s had been during her first exposure,

the powerful disruptive effect, capable of interrupting a High Tier Mage’s spellcasting, had far exceeded his expectations.

He had, in a way, discovered a new trump card against special races.

Leaning against a remnant of the stone wall, Lance focused his thoughts and summoned his system panel.

[Sub-human Species: Elf]

[Current Research Progress: Level 1 (18/50)]

’As expected.’

The Pure-blood Elf race had been successfully added to the Biological Research panel’s list.

But what Lance found strange was the research progress threshold displayed.

It was significantly higher than the experience required for the Half-Elf research to reach Level 2.

’I wonder what the underlying rule is here.’

’Could it be related to the species’ population size in this world?’

Lance shook his head, pushing the baseless speculations from his mind.

Under the glow of the towering flames,

he could already hear the disorderly footsteps and alarmed cries of the townspeople from outside the courtyard. It seemed the town’s patrol guards and fire brigade had arrived.

’Cecilia was probably taken straight back to White Oak Manor by her aunt. They might even be heading back to White River City tonight.’

’Good thing I had the foresight to get her mailing address in White River City.’

In any case,

after tonight’s tumultuous yet unforgettable birthday, his relationship with Cecilia had officially broken through to a whole new level.

The biggest problem from now on

would be figuring out how to get two girls with such different personalities, Cecilia and Nia, to coexist peacefully.

’Right, this kind of Xiuluo Scene-level situation is a headache just thinking about it.’

However, the prerequisite for handling any trouble was always to be strong enough yourself.

’To avoid a tragic "yandere" ending in the future, it’s always right to get stronger.’

Speaking of getting stronger,

he suddenly remembered what happened in the house earlier tonight.

After he kissed Cecilia, the Half-Elf Biological Research seemed to have leveled up directly.

The system had notified him of a very peculiar new Trait.

This seemed to be the first time he had seen an exclusive Trait in the research system that was tagged with a specific person’s name.

But as he recalled the name of that Trait, Lance couldn’t help but feel a little unnerved.

[Spiritual-Desire Coexistence: Source Material Harmonization]

’Why does this name have such a strong adult vibe to it?’

With a sense of trepidation, Lance opened the detailed description of this Trait.

A few seconds later,

Lance, having finished reading the description, sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.

He wasn’t shocked because the Trait was perverted or depraved,

but because its effect was simply too powerful—so powerful it felt unreal.

[Spiritual-Desire Coexistence: Source Material Harmonization (Cecilia Rosenthal)]

[Effect: Soul Attrition Compensation]

[Analysis: The soul of this individual contains the embryonic form of a Legendary Talent, "Magic Tree." This Talent possesses immense stability and rule-receptiveness.]

[When you choose to take on an additional sub-profession in the future, you no longer need to worry about the "soul attrition" caused by the mutual rejection of different Profession rules within your body, unlike an ordinary Professional.]

[This individual’s Talent will perfectly absorb the soul attrition penalty of one additional Profession for you.]

[Your sub-profession’s rules will be "grafted" in an ethereal form onto the branches of the Magic Tree within her soul, bearing illusory fruit.]

[The Magic Tree will completely digest all negative attrition on your behalf.]

[Special Note: Due to the Magic Tree’s exceptionally strong inclusivity, this rule-sharing will not cause any substantial harm to the bonded individual. On the contrary, the minuscule rule fragments that spill over as your sub-profession grows and advances will become excellent nourishment, promoting the Magic Tree’s evolution into a Legendary Level Talent. This is mutually beneficial, allowing for shared growth.]

"Holy shit..."

Lance couldn’t hold it back. This was, without a doubt, the most powerful Trait he had ever received from his cheat panel since he’d transmigrated.

This effect alone could be called heaven-defying.

He had been secretly worried before.

After taking the Professions [Pale Guard] and [Jhin, the Virtuoso], if he also wanted to dabble in life-skill Professions like Pharmacist or Blacksmith, the soul attrition penalty would severely drag down the advancement speed of his Main Profession.

But now,

with this soul compensation Trait,

he could take on a powerful, money-making sub-profession without any inhibitions, and without it dragging down the advancement speed of his Main Profession at all!

On this continent,

the value of any item that could even slightly mitigate soul attrition was self-evident.

Any single one of them was a rare treasure capable of causing a bloodbath, or was even directly tied to a Legend.

Take, for example, the famous historical Fire-Stealing Marvel, the [Fool’s Scapegoat Paper].

Centuries ago, an Imperial Chancellor, relying on the cover of that marvel,

had managed to simultaneously master three completely different and mutually exclusive Professions: [Political Strategist], [Assassin], and [Court Mage].

He ultimately succeeded in usurping the throne, becoming the infamous Iron-blooded Tyrant of human history.

At the time, people racked their brains but could never figure out how he did it.

It wasn’t until more than fifty years later,

when that Tyrant’s grandson accidentally tore the ancient parchment,

that the Tyrant, having lost the marvel’s suppression,

suffered an instantaneous backlash from the three rampaging Profession rules and, under the watchful eyes of all, melted into a puddle of foul-smelling pus on his throne.

Only then was the secret that had been hidden for half a century revealed to the world.

Besides such extremely dangerous marvels,

there was also the Frost Plain’s [Dream of Rest], the Elf Race’s [Rising Morning Dew], the Siren Kingdom’s [Soul-Soothing Shell], and the supreme treasure of the Alchemy Sanctuary, the [Azote Elixir]—an item connected to great deeds and Legends.

Each one of these items occupied a magnificent page in history, which just went to show how precious anything that could mitigate soul attrition truly was.