[WP] Chapter 22: Elements, Bells, Ignition, Push, Hymn. 

[WP] Chapter 22: Elements, Bells, Ignition, Push, Hymn. 

"Now in office?"

Hearing the doctor's words, Shade suddenly became nervous. He didn't expect it to be so direct:

"Here?"

"Of course, is there something wrong with the doctor's clinic? And isn't the 72 hours coming up?"

The blonde writer Miss Louisa didn't understand, but Dr. Schneider understood what Shade wanted to say:

"Of course it's here, oh, Shade, I emphasize this point again.

Remember, we are correspondence ring wizards, and St. Byron's Comprehensive College doesn't have any special feelings for us. There is only responsibility and obligation, do you understand? As for helping you, it is because I need a fifth ring wizard to appear in the group, and the academy will give rewards for introducing new ring wizards to enroll. It is not because I am a kind person."

The doctor looked at Shade very seriously, and his blue eyes were warning:

"You have no common sense about this world, so I give you the most important warning: Don't trust others easily."

"He is a good person, but he is always so strict."

The lady on the side shook her head and said,

Shade nodded cautiously, but he also agreed with the writer's opinion that Dr. Schneider is a good person, at least for now.

"Louisa, you only need to observe the next process to prevent unexpected accidents in the process; please don't speak."

"No problem; we have experienced this step twice. Isn't it the same when Annat and August took office?"

The writer said, motioning for Shade to listen carefully.

"For a gifted person to awaken his life ring, he must first come into contact with four elements, which is difficult for ordinary people who know nothing about it.

Now is the Sixth Epoch, not the dark and chaotic Fourth Epoch, not the Fifth Epoch ruled by the Witch Emperors. In this extraordinary and inconspicuous era, steam and machinery are the themes, and there are not so many mysteries here. Even if you know that mysteries exist, it is difficult to come into contact with them. Moreover, ordinary people can't even imagine the dangers of coming into contact with mysteries."

The doctor stretched out four fingers:

"So, Shade, among the four elements, how many have you come into contact with so far?"

"Only the [blasphemy] related to the evil god is missing."

Shade told the truth, and Dr. Schneider did not ask more questions:

"Look at my life ring."

Three silver runes flashed at the same time, and Shade interpreted their meanings as [Rage], [Muck in the Heart], and [Malice].

[You have come into contact with 'blasphemy'.]

Following this sentence, the voice in his mind murmured another sentence:

[Sixth Epoch, Universal Calendar Year 1853, Summer, Silver Moon Dark Shining Day, you have touched all four elements. Outsider, the door to the extraordinary is about to open, and the road to sublimation is just ahead.]

"Did the 'other you' give any hints?"

The doctor asked after letting the lifering behind him dissipate in the steam.

"Yes, it gave me a hint, a hint that I have come into contact with all the elements, and the door to the extraordinary is about to open."

The doctor nodded with satisfaction.

"The other me is the core of the Ring Wizard system. It is the back of your soul, you, but not you. He shares knowledge and memories with you. But he can feel and see more, so he can serve as a bridge for the ring wizard to communicate with the world, avoiding our direct contact with knowledge and information that will pollute the soul. Now I repeat it; I hope you can remember it."

"In other words, the other me can't know the knowledge that I don't know."

Shade's heart moved, and he asked this question.

The doctor nodded affirmatively, and Shade blinked. He had guessed that his "other me" was not normal.

"That's you, but you don't know. He is the same gender as you, so the voice in my mind is a man's, and the voice in Louisa's mind is a woman's."

The lady next to him nodded in confirmation.

"He has the same memory as you, but he doesn't need sleep, so he may know more about nighttime events than you do. But in essence, you and the other you just have different ways of thinking and perspectives, so sometimes you hear inexplicable words, and he can see more from the ordinary world."

The doctor said again, and Shade blinked again.

In his heart, the woman's chuckle seemed to nourish his heart and expel the last bit of influence brought by the poet-level relic.

"Who are you?"

He asked in his heart.

[Stranger, at least now, I am you.]

"Collecting elements" is only the first step, and then there are four more steps: "ringing the bell," "igniting," "promoting," and "hymns." The complete five steps are the most orthodox ring wizard awakening process, used by the Orthodox Church and the three major colleges.

"Ringing the bell" means shaking the soul and allowing the soul to undergo the initial sublimation. This step sounds complicated, but it is drinking the potion.

The three great schools of magic and the five churches of the true gods have different recipes for the "Bell Potion." The doctor said that the potion of the Sexess Higher Medical College is said to be the best, with an orange flavor and very sweet, while the potion of the [Church of Nature and Evil] of the true god [Lord of All Things] is the most difficult to drink, a bit like chewing dry bark.

The school sent the "Bell Potion" directly through the manuscript, a conical glass bottle, and a purple bubbling potion. It feels a little cold to the touch, but it tastes warm.

But Shade thought he didn't taste anything.

"Look behind you."

The doctor reminded him.

Shade swallowed the last sip, wiped the corner of his mouth, put down the bottle, and turned around. A layer of white mist had risen behind him, and he could vaguely hear the bell ringing in his ears, but it was not clear.

He did feel the so-called vibration of the soul, but that could also be an illusion of the stomach caused by drinking too quickly.

"Ignition" means igniting the collected four elements to ignite the initial soul spark. This step only requires the assistance of a ringmaster above the third ring and some skills. The doctor tapped Shade's forehead with his right index finger. When some cold air slowly entered Shade's body, the bell in his ears became clearer.

He turned his head, and the thick white mist behind him had a scorching temperature. The steam became deeper, and the steam seemed to contain countless possibilities.

"Push" means that the soul can drive the ignited weak spark so that the ringmaster can sense the spirit and manipulate the four elements. Specifically, this requires Shade to feel the power and the idealistic power of the mind affecting matter.

So Dr. Schneider brought a book without a cover:

"For ring wizards, there are many ways to contact the four elements. However, the method of engraving [Spirit Runes] into one's life ring does not encourage contact with gods, mystery, or weirdness. Although this is possible, it is quite dangerous. The orthodox way of training is to read books and read stories from the past. Other methods can be regarded as relying on luck."

"Read books?"

This once again reminded Shade that the extraordinary organization he joined was a school.

"Yes, the church, the academy, and a few ring wizard organizations have some special books that record quite dangerous knowledge and stories from the past. Those books are copied by hand and translated from dangerous ancient languages into modern languages, and their power will be weakened. Therefore, reading those original or forbidden books that have only been copied or translated once is the best way for ring wizards to engrave spiritual runes. And for you, this is enough for you to feel your own power."

He handed the book to Shade.

"This is a handwritten copy of the first volume of "The Book of Fire Worship,"  and it is a version that has been copied at least six times from the original version. It is the least dangerous book in my hand. It is impossible to obtain spiritual runes by reading this book. You spend half an hour to read it completely. You can ask me if you don't understand the words."

So Shade spent another half an hour reading the book, and in his mind, he equated the advancement of the extraordinary path in the future with reading and learning. He had to disguise his current identity, so he could only ask a few words every once in a while.

During this time, the doctor and the writer kept quiet enough; they knew this was an important moment for Shade.

"Have you finished reading? How do you feel?"

The doctor asked.

"A little hot."

Shade put down the book and answered carefully.

"Light it up."

The doctor gave Shade another piece of paper. Shade held it and waited for a few seconds. When he found that the doctor had nothing else to say, he asked:

"Well, did you skip some steps, such as spells or gestures?"

"Don't understand, feel, and guide this power. Unless your core spiritual rune is a concept like [extinguished fire], this is not a problem."

So Shade closed his eyes. He came from another world. Although there was nothing extraordinary, he had more knowledge and fantasy. Close his eyes and relax; imagine the warm current in his body flowing with his perception; and finally, reach his fingertips and burst into sparks.

Open his eyes; the paper between his fingers has turned yellow due to the high temperature.

A huge roar came from the steam behind him, and the black shadow represented the hammer that was about to hit Shade's soul.

"The last step is the hymn. You have to admit your identity and announce to the world that you are beyond the mundane world."

The doctor's tone became serious at this moment.

"How do you do this?"

Shade was puzzled; his heart was pounding; he knew that he was about to come into contact with the extraordinary and enter the mysterious realm of the steam age.

"Just say something; I just read out my name at the time; Louisa recited a very famous poem; Mr. Rat Augustus prayed to God; and Miss Luvia Anat recited silently, so we don't know."

For Shade at this moment, the doctor's words seemed to come from a very far distance. He looked at the thick white stream behind him and the hammer that was about to fall behind the thick fog.

The woman's voice, the voice of reciting the whispering poem, sounded again.

So, Shade almost synchronized with the woman's whispering voice in his heart, silently reciting the declaration:

[Sixth Epoch, Universal Calendar 1853, Summer, Silver Moon Dark Day I came to this world, I opened the door of transcendence, and I set foot on the road of sublimation of the four elements. I, Shade Sulen Hamilton, the road of destiny forked under my feet; I will witness, I will experience, I will see all of this.]

The giant hammer carried a huge wind pressure, swung out from the depths of the steam, and hit behind Shade in the wind.

Boom~

The soul was impacted, sparks splashed, spiritual light flashed, and elements overflowed. In the frantic spray of white steam mist, with a strange luster, the brass-colored wheel ring like the sun gradually became clear.

It rotated and splashed sparks in all directions, and the brass ring body appeared completely in the steam mist with high temperature, and the life ring was suspended behind it.

In the center of the high-speed rotating wheel, two brass-colored, shining core runes symbolize the next fate of Shade—

[Time and Space] [Silver Moon].

PS: After twenty-two chapters, the protagonist finally comes into contact with the extraordinary and becomes an extraordinary and mysterious person in this world system. I hope everyone likes this story, and now the story has just begun.

(End of this chapter)