sonovelo Chapter 336: Alia’s Mysterious Ritual
Chapter 336: Alia’s Mysterious Ritual
"Go hurry up the kitchen again."Seeing Gauss eating so quickly, the little maids quickly put pressure on the kitchen.
Actually, they had already notified the kitchen in advance when they anticipated Gauss was about to finish his current cultivation session, but unfortunately, the cooking speed couldn't keep up with Gauss's eating speed.
They were all very curious about how Gauss's not particularly burly frame could contain so much food. It was almost as if there was a magical extra-dimensional space inside his stomach.
Gauss felt the food entering his body, transforming into a continuous stream of warmth replenishing his slightly empty physique. A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
Eating a lot was never a bad thing for an adventurer.
He had never heard of any renowned adventurer who was troubled by meal expenses.
During the interval waiting for more food, he continued to sense the changes brought by this rank breakthrough.
Besides a total increase of 7 attribute points, he also obtained a new professional feat: [Artillery Mage].
The effect of this feat was exactly as the name implied.
When he was stationary or moving relatively slowly, he could strengthen various aspects of the spells he released by concentrating his mind. This included range, power, casting cooldown, magic penetration, control, and other aspects, all receiving a certain degree of enhancement.
This sounded rather ordinary, even requiring him to slow his own movements while casting spells. But considering this was actually the true combat mode for a mage, and his anti-interference ability, magic resistance, physical resistance, and other protections were all quite good, plus he had teammates for support, entering artillery mode didn't really bring significant drawbacks.
He really needed a feat like [Artillery Mage]. When facing large numbers of weak enemies, killing them would be much less strenuous.
In his current perception, he could clearly feel that sitting still doubled his understanding of mana and spell models.
It was a pity this place wasn't suitable for practice, otherwise he would have been eager to try out this feat's power immediately.
Moreover, after advancing to level 6, his mastery of various spells, especially level 1 and level 2 spells, had reached an extremely high level.
Gauss spent a full hour eating.
"That's enough, I'm full."
Gauss said to the maid who was still about to hurry the kitchen.
This was the most he had ever eaten for lunch in his life.
"Thank you for the hospitality."
"That's what we should do, Lord Gauss. Are you leaving now?" The head maid asked as she saw him stand up.
"Yes, I've made you all accompany me for so many days."
Gauss stretched his limbs, moving his arms and legs.
Besides the changes on his status panel, there were actually many improvements that couldn't be reflected on paper. They were more of a mysterious, ineffable kind of enhancement.
He now felt his entire mental and physical state was clearly a whole tier better than before.
In his normal state, it was like being in his best, most focused state before the breakthrough.
There was an indescribable comfort.
To use an analogy, if the body was a device, then his entire being, aside from hardware upgrades, felt like the software system had also been upgraded to a higher version.
This allowed this body to exert 120%, even 150% of its capability with the same attributes.
Gauss even felt that this indescribable "software-level" improvement was more valuable and impactful than the attribute increases, equivalent to gaining a permanent buff in his normal state.
No wonder, unless someone was like him before the breakthrough, it was generally difficult for ordinary people to defeat opponents across rank boundaries.
Under the respectful farewells of the maids and guards, Gauss mounted his ostrich and left the hot springs manor.
He guided his mount along the clean, tidy main road of the inner city.
Once again attracting the gazes of many passing citizens.
However, Gauss didn't pay attention to the discussions of others, heading straight for the garden where Aria was cultivating.
He wondered if she, like him, had already finished her breakthrough cultivation session.
"Stop."
Upon reaching the location, Gauss tightened the reins.
Then he dismounted from his steed.
"Has Aria finished her cultivation?"
Gauss asked the guard who came jogging over.
"Reporting, my lord, not yet."
Hearing this, Gauss nodded, gesturing for the other guards not to follow.
He walked into the woods alone.
His movements were very light and slow, afraid of disturbing Aria.
However, considering Aria's last breakthrough had failed, he still wanted to see her situation with his own eyes this time, at least observe her condition from afar.
If another accident occurred, failing twice in a short period would have a significant impact on her.
Many professionals stagnated, sometimes precisely because of various accidents leading to breakthrough backlash, leaving hidden injuries.
Walking through the woods.
He felt the surrounding vegetation seemed more vibrant.
Looking carefully, tender green grass sprouts were even emerging underfoot, presenting a scene full of vitality, with all things competing to grow.
But it was clearly autumn now, even approaching winter.
If the trees were special evergreen varieties, then this flourishing of grass seedlings was somewhat abnormal.
The corner of Gauss's mouth lifted slightly.
This actually indicated that Aria's breakthrough this time was going very smoothly.
Gauss restrained his aura.
A pure white fawn in the woods lowered its head to nibble on the tender grass, then suddenly twitched its ears, raised its head, and looked warily in a certain direction within the forest.
Gauss walked out from within, unhurried.
The fawn tapped its front hooves, preparing to flee.
However, Gauss beckoned to it.
The fawn seemed to sense the tranquility within him and regained its calm.
Gauss withdrew his gaze.
This was also an ability brought by breaking through to the Master realm. His soul power had become stronger, and he could now convey emotions to these ordinary living beings.
The fawn had sensed the genuine peace within his soul that couldn't be faked, so it stopped its fleeing action.
Gauss continued walking through the forest. Before long, he heard the sound of gurgling water.
By the small stream, between several ancient emerald-green trees so thick it would take two or three people to encircle them, vines extended from the trees to wrap around a suspended "wooden cocoon" in the center.
This cocoon, about the size of a person, emitted gentle, clear moonlight even though it was midday.
Gauss knew Aria was inside.
Was this how all druids broke through?
Gauss didn't approach, standing at a distance to observe for a while.
Then he used his powerful vision and observational skills to inspect the surrounding environment, confirming there were no creatures that could harm Aria or interrupt her breakthrough. After that, he prepared to turn and leave.
Just as he turned around.
The already bright moonlight enveloping the wooden cocoon quietly reached a peak.
Above it, space rippled like water.
Then more moonlight power poured down like a waterfall, continuously flowing into the cocoon-like object.
Is this...
About to succeed?
Gauss didn't expect his timing to be so coincidental.
He simply didn't leave.
Planning to watch Aria's breakthrough ceremony to the end. After all, he wouldn't disturb Aria from this distance.
In the woods, sunlight gradually grew sparse.
Gauss noticed this detail.
The nearby sunlight was fading. Before long, the midday forest plunged into darkness.
Replacing it was even more intense moonlight.
That moonlight radiated a kind of loving, pure, sacred power.
Gauss blinked. He vaguely seemed to see a hazy female phantom appear behind the cocoon-like object, then open her arms, cradling it as if holding an infant.
"Whoosh—"
Upon contacting the cocoon, the female phantom slowly dissipated, or rather, merged into its interior.
For some reason, Gauss understood: the breakthrough ceremony had ended.
After that embrace, the moonlight gradually faded, and sunlight once again sprinkled into the woodland.
Everything returned to normal.
"Crack, crack, crack!"
The emerald green wooden cocoon woven from vines rapidly split apart. Debris and leaves fell, while a figure, naked and shrouded in silver moonlight, slowly descended from the sky.
Finally floating down onto the grass like a thin feather.
That person was Aria.
The moonlight surrounding her was also, with the ceremony's end, withdrawing back into her body.
The surrounding trees, shrubs, and grass gently swayed in the breeze, as if spontaneously waving to congratulate her on completing the ceremony.
Gauss hesitated for a moment in the distance, but ultimately came before her.
Taking out a clean robe from his storage bag, he covered her with it.
Then he quietly sat beside her, waiting for her to awaken.
Now that Aria had successfully broken through and changed professions, her appearance had also undergone some changes.
Gauss wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he felt her ears had become more slender and pointed, and her features had become more refined.
At least, the skin on her cheeks showed no flaws whatsoever, like perfect mutton-fat jade.
He had some suspicions in his heart, but he didn't speculate blindly. He would simply ask Aria directly when she woke up.
He waited for about half an hour.
Just as Gauss was hesitating whether to take her away to rest elsewhere, Aria's eyelids fluttered a few times.
Then she gently opened her eyes.
A pair of transparent blue eyes, like lake water, met Gauss's gaze directly.
"Gauss..."
"What is this?"
She was momentarily dazed, perhaps because she had slept too long. Her brain, just booting up, wasn't fully awake yet.
She looked down at the robe covering her body and the unfamiliar woodland around her.
"Put on some clothes first."
Gauss patted the set of women's clothing beside him.
He actually always kept several sets of portable clothing for everyone in his storage bag. It was just that dressing her himself earlier would have been inappropriate.
Now that she was finally conscious, he left it to her to handle.
Gauss turned around.
Behind Gauss's back, Aria, who had been pretending to be confused, instantly blushed crimson.
Those elven-like ears even took on a hint of pink.
She bit her lip.
There were no outsiders present, only her and Gauss. This robe covering her body could only have been draped over her by Gauss.
Didn't that mean Gauss had already seen...
Aria covered her face with her hands.
After taking a few deep breaths, she quickly calmed her emotions.
She told herself it was no big deal.
It wasn't an outsider who saw.
It was Gauss anyway.
After comforting herself with a few thoughts, her pounding heart gradually eased somewhat.
Pretending to be calm, she put on the clothes, then spoke to let Gauss turn around.
However, judging from her slightly awkward, uncomfortable movements, she wasn't as calm as she pretended to be.
"Congratulations."
Gauss blinked, offering his congratulations.
As the saying goes, good things take time.
In his perception, the current Aria had undergone a complete transformation.
Her entire aura was completely different from before, as if she had emerged from a cocoon as a butterfly.
Or rather, this change couldn't be simply explained by a profession change.
"Aria, what's with your ears?"
Being old teammates, Gauss naturally wouldn't hem and haw when he had questions. He asked directly and openly.
Speaking of her own changes, Aria finally recovered from her earlier shyness.
"This is..."
"Actually, it's related to my family."
Aria hesitated for a moment. She had never talked much about her family background.
It wasn't that she didn't trust Gauss, she just found it somewhat difficult to talk about.
"My family has elven bloodlines, or rather, possessed them a very, very long time ago."
Gauss didn't interrupt her, gesturing for her to continue.
"Elven civilization once ruled this land. At that time, although elves' reproductive ability wasn't strong, it was far from the terrible situation it is today."
"My family was one branch among the elves."
"But starting from some unknown time, elves seemed to have contracted a strange disease. Their fertility rapidly declined, and even a significant portion of pure-blood elven bloodlines gradually degenerated."
"And my family was one such branch long ago. The elves, worried about polluting the bloodline, expelled them from the ancestral lands."
"In my family, I was the one with the thinnest elven bloodline, almost non-existent. So when I was very young, I was sent away to be raised by others."
Aria now spoke of this matter with some acceptance.
She used to care deeply about her origins, even feeling inferior at one point.
But during years of adventuring, she had come to accept her shortcomings and imperfections.
She just never expected that now, her bloodline had re-awakened.
Signs of elven transformation were reviving in her body—this bloodline power she had once dreamed of possessing.
She could feel that her bloodline wasn't fully revived yet. It would continue to grow stronger as her power increased, eventually becoming true pure-blood elven, and possibly different from most elves.
"I received the guidance of the Moon Goddess, changed professions to become a Moon Phase Walker, and thus activated the dormant elven bloodline within me."
As expected...
Gauss had already suspected as much.
Although Aria's changes were somewhat unexpected, they weren't entirely without signs.
The strange dreams before, Aria deliberately avoiding her origins...
He just never expected she was actually connected to pure-blood elves.
The number of pure-blood elves walking this land was already very small. They usually lived in their own ancestral lands, leading peaceful, reclusive lives.
Even half-elves were something Gauss rarely encountered.
Moreover, the gap between half-elves and pure-blood elves was like heaven and earth.
Although half-elves retained pointed ears, beauty, and other elven characteristics, the elven bloodline within them was actually quite thin. One could even consider them a completely separate race without issue.