Helen
Devouring divine power like this was a very dangerous thing. Even if incomplete, even Legends couldn’t resist a divine conscient. If any idiot devoured the power of an existing god, he would either go crazy due to the huge conscient or get devoured by the divine force instead and become an incarnation of that god.
Yet Leylin was different. His original body was equivalent to a demigod to begin with, and he had the conscient and memories of his host body. He wasn’t the least bit afraid of this incomplete conscient.
*Hiss!* An unnerving phantom of a winged snake emerged from Leylin’s soul, glaring at the disabled monkey in front of it. Even if it was only a conscient, the monkey screeched in fright. The monkey screeched out of fright despite that it only being a conscient.
*Boom!* The Targaryen looked at the monkey with disdain before swallowing it whole. Leylin’s body trembled involuntarily as the A.I. Chip made a report: [Beep! Unknown energy absorbed by host body! Determined to be divine essence, near high-grade. Spirit increasing...]
[Beep! Energy fully absorbed by host body, Spirit+1.]
Leylin’s spirit force increased to a stunning 13 after devouring Malar’s divinity. His spirit was raised substantially, and he could make contact with more of the Weave.
Meanwhile, the A.I. Chip was still giving him feedback.
[Host body’s spirit stat has reached 13, host has advanced to rank 13 as a wizard.]
[Host has received one rank 6 spell slot, one rank 5 spell slot, and one rank 4 spell slot!]
‘Did I finally break through?’ Leylin looked at his updated stats.
[Leylin Faulen. Age: 20. Race: Human, Rank 13 Wizard. Strength: 10. Agility: 10 Physique: 10. Spirit force: 13. Condition: Healthy. Feats: Sturdy, Erudite, Elementary Perfect Body. Spell Slots: Rank 6(2), Rank 5(4), Rank 4(6), Rank 3(???), Rank 2(???), Rank 1(???), Rank 0(???)]
[Weave Analysis Progress: Level 0: 100%. Level 1: 100%. Level 2: 100%. Level 3: 100%. Level 4: 56.77%. Level 5: 12.15%. Level 6: 0.01%.]
“A 20 year old rank 13 Wizard. I reckon there aren’t many like me in Silverymoon City. I’m almost on par with a Chosen now, though I guess I did advance with the grace of a god...” Leylin had fully digested Malar’s energy, and whilst the god himself realised that he’d lost some of his divinity he had no idea why.
‘Well, it seems like I’ll be entering an eternal feud with the God of the Hunt now.’ Even if he hadn’t devoured Malar’s divine force, Leylin would have made an enemy of the god’s church anyway. He had killed too many of his werecreature followers.
‘I’ll have to face a god sooner or later anyway. The God of the Hunt? Interesting domain.’ Leylin smirked.
.....
“My Lord.” Tiff, who was waiting outside the altar, was aware that Leylin had changed. However, he didn’t point it out. “We’ve detained and imprisoned a group of captives according to your orders and... I found something in the cell at the core of the campsite.”
“Oh? Bring me there to have a look.” Adrenaline rushed through Leylin as he came to a securely sealed cell with Tiff.
“I’m the only one who’s entered the place. I thought it would be better for few people to know about this.” Tiff bowed before positioning himself beside the door like a loyal guard.
‘Can it be...’ Leylin had a few guesses in his heart, but he was still hesitant as he pushed the door.
*Clang!* The thick and heavy door bellowed.
The light inside was dim, and it was covered in the distinct runes of the werecreatures that gave off a barbaric aura. Leylin could tell that it was a high-grade anti-demon spell formation to block off contact with elemental energy and the Weave.
It evidently a trap, and the person within the cell moved suddenly and raised their head.
“You– You’re not a werecreature!” They mumbled, so softly that Leylin could barely hear.
*Cling clang!* The chains scraped against each other as this prisoner moved, and Leylin noticed the unique cuffs on their hands. “Antimagic cuffs? Looks like they were really wary of you.”
Leylin sized the captive up—they were humanoid, but looked like a half-elf. Beneath their long viridescent locks were a pair of pure obsidian eyes and translucent fair skin. Their aura was distinct in spite of the long imprisonment.
A faint energy was emitted from their body, but restricted by the antimagic cuffs on their hands. It was clear that this captive was a wizard.
“A female half-elf wizard? Tell me, why did the werecreatures imprison you?” Leylin asked.
“I heard screaming and slashing just now. Have you eliminated all of them?” The female wizard raised her head and shot Leylin a glance with her unreadable eyes.
“Hm, I guess you can say that!” Leylin nodded in agreement.
“Then aren’t you going to release me?” She waved her cuffs in question.
“Nope. Law says you’re now my captive, unless you have something of value to exchange for your freedom.” Leylin shook his head. “Besides, you’re a half-elf wizard, you should know your value.”
This was the standard practice in the mainland, but things were different in Silverymoon. The city’s leader was good, and if she heard of the situation she might even have redeemed the half-elf with her own money. But Leylin didn’t plan on reporting it.
“Redemption? Hah, I guess you came because of ‘that’ too. Ignorant idiot. You don’t know the suffering it will bring you.” The female wizard laughed, her eyes brimming with complicated emotions. Leylin saw a brief moment of regret.
“Are you talking about the inheritance of the arcanists near the Nether Mountains and red dragon territory?” Leylin was sick of beating about the bush. And as expected, the moment he mentioned the Nether Mountains, red dragon, and arcanists, her expression changed. “So you knew.”
“Actually, I know more than what you think I do.” Leylin looked at her robe which was evidently different from the regular robes of other wizards and snapped his fingers.
A scorching light struck between her hands and melted the antimagic cuffs. Boiling molten iron dripped to the floor and sizzled, producing white fumes in its wake. But the female wizard had better things to pay attention to, as she stared at Leylin unbelievingly, “Instant cast? It can’t be! You- You are an arcanist!”
“An arcanist? I’ve yet to become one, I just have a few incomplete arcane spell models, just like you.” Leylin smiled at her.
The use of arcane spells was obviously different from that of normal spells. The biggest difference was that one didn’t need the help of the Weave to use them, instead using the elemental particles in the air.
Leylin had made these plans long ago, but the A.I. Chip was busy with the Weave. Still, he’d managed to build a few arcane spell models in his leisure. The scorching ray that he casted just now was one of them.
Given his abilities, it wasn’t impossible for Leylin to completely reconstruct the arcanists given enough time. Still, it could take tens of millennia. The transformation of normal spells into arcane spell models would be enough to keep him busy.
When there were ready-made ones, why would he continue to make them himself? Leylin’s real interest lay in the research of those arcanists and the inheritance from those Magi who had comprehended laws.
There was more than one Magus who comprehended laws in the final war, and countless rank 8s who were similar to the Mother Core. An understanding of their paths and laws would be extremely beneficial to Leylin. Being a localisation of Magi, arcanists must have received the teachings of the ancient Magi. It was quite possible that they possessed information in those fields.
‘Observing the different paths of law will be a great benefit. Though the ultimate path of every Magus is definitely different, it can at least give me a general direction.’ Leylin looked at the female wizard as multiple thoughts ran through his head.
On the other hand, she let down her guard after seeing Leylin cast that spell. Her expression loosened up, and a sense of pity and reliance overcame her. It was as if she had found her own kind.
*Bam!* A ball of green elemental particles started burning on the tips of her fingers, and she made a bizarre gesture, looking cautious.
“In the eyes of the Arcanic Fire, I will comply with the path of truth and abandon confusion, weakness and suffering. I will succeed the path of the arcanist. The light of Netheril will never be dimmed. My name is Helen. May I know who you are, my Lord?”
Helen looked over to Leylin after the ritual with expectation.
“Is that how ancient arcanists greet each other? I’m sorry, but I really don’t know how to do this.” Leylin spread his hands out and laughed helplessly, “Honestly, I’m just an ordinary wizard who got some fragments of arcanist inheritance.”
After a round of confusing explanation and using the arcanist notebook as proof, Leylin finally proved his identity. Helen’s own origins gradually grew clear before his eyes.