Chapter 687: Chapter 426: Phased Achievements
This experimental site set up on farmland was mainly comprised of two parts.
One part was a semi-enclosed polluted farmland shielded by a Witch Array, while the other was an enclosed laboratory.
Shelley stood beside the farmland and, upon seeing Colin approach, pointed to the withered remains of bean sprouts on the ground and said,
"The sixty-seventh type of plant we planted most recently withered last night too."
To resolve the Divine Pollution in the farmland, one needed to first understand exactly what the pollution was.
This "what" included not only the nature of the pollution but also its manifestations and the paths through which it affected the crops.
Thus, these past days, Shelley and Colin had been doing one thing, testing different plants for the extent to which they were affected by the farmland’s pollution, including the time required for complete contamination and the severity of pollution at different times.
Until now, all plants had displayed similar behavior, withering completely within at most three hours.
Wheat required the shortest time for complete contamination, needing only a matter of minutes.
"Hmm," Colin nodded lightly, approached, and bent down to examine the bean sprouts before asking, "Have any abnormalities appeared in the death row inmates who ate the withered food?"
"None," Shelley shook her head. "Apart from diarrhea, there were no other abnormalities. We can confirm that the Divine Pollution in the farmland targets only plants."
Colin stood up and, after a moment’s thought, made up his mind.
He turned around and said to Shelley in a grave voice,
"It’s time to conduct further research, relying only on what we have now won’t yield much useful information."
"Are you planning to conduct the research yourself?" Shelley’s face showed a hint of worry.
"Yes, don’t worry, I inscribed the Radiant Strong Wall in my Spirit Sea last night," Colin reassured, "A brief direct exposure to the farmland’s pollution shouldn’t cause me much harm, and if something isn’t right, I’ll stop right away."
"...Be careful, I’ll assist by your side," Shelley paused before saying, feeling somewhat astonished inside.
Normally, mastering a Third Rank Witchcraft from scratch usually took at least several months and even longer to inscribe it into the Spirit Sea.
However, Colin’s talent was by now a well-known fact, and Shelley was not too surprised. After nodding lightly, she followed Colin toward the sealed laboratory.
"Although I’ve seen your strong resistance to Tainted babbling before, casual contact and focused research are two different things, so still be very careful."
Walking down the silvery hallway, Shelley couldn’t help but warn him again.
That day in Neustadt City when Colin had approached her suggesting he might be able to help with the farm’s pollution, she initially didn’t believe him.
Since Tainted babbling was known to be difficult to observe and study, a consensus among all Wizards.
Even a powerful Wizard like Nois couldn’t break this pattern.
That’s also why, when the Wizards of the Supreme Council initially realized that the Divine Pollution in the farmland was very similar to the Tainted babbling also spread by the Divine, they decisively gave up on saving the farmland.
However, after Colin finished speaking, he immediately demonstrated his unusually strong resistance to Tainting babbling.
Though Shelley didn’t know how Colin managed it, after he left the protection of his body, he indeed wasn’t affected by the Tainted babbling.
This greatly shocked Shelley, and it also moved her heart a little—Colin was willing to share such special information with her, the trust implied was undeniable.
But for Colin, Shelley had been a trusted friend for many years, with whom he had closely interacted.
Shelley truly hadn’t let down such trust, never mentioning this matter to anyone else.
In fact, Colin felt that even if he was mistaken in his trust, it didn’t matter... in this world, more tragic than misplacing trust, was not finding anyone to trust at all.
"I will," Colin paused his steps, nodded seriously to Shelley, and was also cautious in his heart.
While he was a Second Rank Advanced Wizard, his soul was already as clear as that of a Third Rank Wizard.
After advancing to a Third Rank, Colin was surprised to discover that enveloping his already exceptionally clear soul was a layer as if adorned with twinkling stars of white veil.
This veil, as Colin later found in his research, appeared to be a mix of Will Power, spiritual power, and the blend of humanity and knowledge’s Spiritual Light.
Will Power played a decisive role in forming the starry veil, integrating the dispersed spiritual power of the soul and the humanity and knowledge’s Spiritual Light existing on the surface of the body.
The usefulness of the veil wasn’t limited to resisting Tainted babbling; it was his greatest gain after advancing to a Third Rank Wizard.
This also enabled him to possess power far beyond a Third Rank Basic Level Wizard right when he advanced!