Chapter 429: Darc Demon Unification of Knowledge and Action (4k)
What was it like to be wrapped up inside the “Greed Slime II”?
The fresh scent of plants lingered around the nose.
The oily residue from staying up late was peeled away like threads.
The jumbled thoughts gradually became calm.
The body felt refreshed as if reborn.
Overall, it was an unimaginably comfortable experience!
Unfortunately, this ultimate enjoyment could only last for fifteen minutes, which was indeed a great pity.
…
While Darc and Senior Pandora were immersed in extreme bliss from the “Greed Slime II,” it suddenly stirred up and gently lifted both of them. It then degenerated into a “Trash Slime” amidst the light.
Darc turned around, bent over, and held the trash slime to his chest before smiling and asking, “How was it, senior? Comfortable?”
Pandora couldn’t help but show a look of lingering satisfaction: “It feels like all my fatigue has disappeared. If it knew how to give massages, it would be even more irresistible.”
“Guruguru—” The trash slime wiggled its body, clearly hearing her words.
Darc smiled, sat down on the spot while holding the trash slime, looked up at the starless sky, and took a deep breath: “The air at dawn is always so fresh.”
Pandora sat beside him with her knees hugged, teasing: “Why does it sound like you often sneak out at dawn?”
Darc leaned back, saying, “Am I that kind of person?”
Pandora also looked up at the sky, leisurely saying, “Though it doesn’t seem like it, maybe I’m right.”
“Hehe.” Darc changed the topic, “Senior, where are you planning to go during your winter break?”
“Why do you suddenly ask?” Pandora asked in puzzlement.
Darc said, “Just curious.”
Pandora helplessly replied, “Well, usually I stay on campus. If Lady Bella has something to attend to, she usually takes me along.”
Darc pressed further, “And this year?”
“This year… ” Pandora’s eyes revealed a hint of anticipation, “This year, I plan to go out and explore.”
Darc’s mind stirred, and he gained more confidence in his previous guess.
After a while, he added, “If you happen to pass by the capital, don’t forget to drop by my place.”
Pandora turned her head to look at his profile, gently saying, “If there’s an opportunity, I will definitely visit. Don’t shut the door on me when I come.”
Darc: “Of course not.”
Pandora looked back at the sky, her voice carrying a hint of ethereality: “I really want to see the Valkyrie in person. You know, many goddess idols in our academy admire your mother.”
Darc rubbed his chin and said, “That’s quite normal.”
After all, Alvaraite was indeed a sufficient idol.
If he remembered correctly, Diana’s idol was also Alvaraite.
In any case, admiring a Valkyrie is better than admiring some random person, isn’t it?
But then Pandora suddenly blurted out, “If there’s a chance, it would be great to have a duel with the Valkyrie.”
Darc: “…”
Pandora lightly brushed her hair, saying, “Do you think I’m being presumptuous?”
Darc shook his head slightly: “Of course not. I’ve never seen her duel anyone. If you’re interested in swordsmanship, she would surely accept. But this duel…”
Pandora felt a bit disappointed: “Is that so? I was hoping to see how far I am from becoming a top-tier fighter. Looks like there’s no chance now.”
Darc thought for a moment and said, “It’s not necessarily impossible.”
Pandora: “How so?”
Darc pondered for a while but shook his head again: “No, it’s nothing.”
…
Time passed.
A hint of egg white gradually appeared on the distant horizon.
As the clock struck five in the morning, curfew time had arrived.
Only then did Darc realize they had been chatting for over an hour.
“It’s past curfew.”
“Yeah, let’s go back.” Pandora took a deep breath and stood up.
“Remember to get some sleep.”
“I will.”
“Good night.”
“It’s morning already.”
“Good night!”
“Alright, good night.”
Darc smiled as he watched her fly directly from the castle top to the Mana Academy tower.
Once her silhouette disappeared behind the castle, Darc summoned the “Flight Spell,” turned around, and flew toward the Tower of the Noble Academy.
After returning to his dorm, he summoned Deoxys, the trash slime, and Ditto, then fell asleep with a heavy sense of fatigue.
He slept until well after noon.
After waking up, Darc could feel that his body still felt tired. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he carefully thought about it and decided to abandon this week’s exploration of the secret passages.
Once fully awake, he washed up, ate the takeout delivered by the Imp Beast, and glanced at today’s “The Wise One Daily.”
Weekend newspapers always had more gossip than weekday ones. Although there weren’t any shocking headlines, there were plenty of interesting reports.
“It seems the Church plans to keep the news of the Demon King escaping confinement a secret until death.”
Darc took a sip of coffee, contemplating whether to write a letter to Alvaraite.
Theoretically, although the Church chose to hide the truth, they must have secretly mobilized forces to search for the Demon King’s reincarnation vessel. And the effort wouldn’t be low.
If they mobilized large-scale forces, the Big Princess’s faction would have no reason to remain unaware.
After all, the Church didn’t know that the Demon King might encounter issues during the reincarnation process. They would certainly treat this as a significant threat.
Of course, this was merely theoretical speculation.
Perhaps differences in stance and beliefs would lead informed members of the Church to act unreasonably.
Or perhaps someone more astute would make a more astute deployment.
In short, there was a possibility that the Church would do nothing.
And if the Church did nothing, others naturally wouldn’t notice.
“The development of events isn’t inherently reasonable. Obsessing over logic can only trap oneself in a loop.”
“In any case, even if it’s redundant, this letter should be sent. Just need to pay attention to the method.”
Darc estimated for a while and picked a relatively easy-to-decrypt cipher to write about the Demon King’s reincarnation through the container.
He mentioned nothing else.
But after writing, he reconsidered and wrote another ordinary letter, sharing some life at the academy and happiness with his mother.
Then he temporarily prepared a potion that would reveal itself when water was added, adding a small note at the end to mention the Demon King’s reincarnation.
“That’s it.”
Darc tore off the filled pages, folded them into a heart shape, and prepared to go to Traveler’s Street in the afternoon.
Traveler’s Street naturally had mail services, but in this era with underdeveloped transportation, sending letters required a lot of time.
Depending on the distance, the cost of mailing was high and not guaranteed to deliver.
After resting a bit after eating, Darc took out the “Fusion Factor” potion recipe obtained last night and carefully studied it.
“Although I don’t quite understand the effects of the herbs, the preparation method of this potion is indeed simple. However, the core materials needed are hard to find, especially this one… It’s likely a specialty of the academy. Once outside, it’s almost impossible to obtain.”
Darc reluctantly put away the recipe and took out the potion named “Fusion Factor.”
The potion was dark black, and if not for the purple fluorescence within, it might be mistaken for ink.
“Next month! After extracting some ‘Pride’ next month, I’ll use the Dragon Grass to cultivate a ‘Pride Fruit.'”
“Whether it succeeds or fails remains to be seen. Since Senior Pandora has tacitly approved of me using the Christmas gift she gave me, all my concerns are gone.”
“‘Pride Fruit (Dragon)’ + ‘White Dragon Pearl’ + ‘Fusion Factor’ + ‘Dragon’s Inverted Scale’ = ?”
“If I can successfully refine that light attribute dragon, it would be great… But the material grade might not be enough, and there’s a possibility of refining other lower-grade Mana Spirits or failing altogether.”
Darc tilted his head in thought for a long time before putting away the potion and heading to Traveler’s Street to send the letter.
…
The next evening at 7:30 PM.
Darc was diligently studying knowledge related to the “Zoo,” when the selection card in his card pack suddenly vibrated.
Initially, he thought it was about tomorrow’s class schedule, but upon opening it, he discovered it was an invitation from Professor Steven Harvey!
“Has the ‘Soul Curse’ been improved?”
Darc’s mind stirred, and he immediately put on his coat, hurrying towards the teacher’s dormitory.
Arriving at Professor Steven Harvey’s dormitory again, Darc was now quite familiar.
“Knock knock knock.”
He knocked on the door, and Professor Steven Harvey opened it quickly.
“Good evening, professor.”
“Good evening, Darc.”
Professor Harvey moved aside to let him in.
Darc entered and said, “Professor, did you improve it so quickly?”
“Not quick enough,” Professor Harvey closed the door, smiling, “It’s been nearly half a month, hasn’t it? Anyway, come in and have some tea.”
Darc walked into the room and found a pot of black tea and some exquisite pastries ready on the tea table.
He hadn’t expected Professor Harvey to have such refined tastes, so he suppressed his eagerness and chatted with him while drinking tea and eating snacks for half an hour.
When they reached a pleasant point, Professor Harvey brought up the “Soul Curse” again.
He indeed improved the “Soul Curse,” primarily based on the entry-level “Soul Curse” Darc obtained from the Holy Grail. He re-examined and extended it.
Now, he not only completed the basic version of the “Soul Curse” but also finished most of the intermediate and advanced versions.
Professor Steven Harvey’s vast knowledge was undeniable.
As he said, the “Soul Curse” was just a minor technique to him.
Even so, he wouldn’t misuse it and was very cautious when teaching it.
“Here’s the improved basic version of the ‘Soul Curse.’ You can copy it. As for the subsequent content, you need to master the basics thoroughly before I can continue teaching you.”
Professor Harvey took out three densely written papers and stapled them together at the top left corner.
Darc browsed through them from start to finish. After confirming everything was correct, he summoned the Mana Book and instructed it to record the improved basic version of the “Soul Curse.”
“You certainly have a convenient Mana Spirit,” Professor Harvey suddenly became interested and examined the Mana Book closely.
Darc, however, stored the Mana Book back into the Mana Card after it finished recording.
Professor Harvey openly showed disappointment and then said, “It’s getting late. If you have any questions, you can come straight to me. Most evenings, I’ll be in the dorm.”
Darc hurriedly said, “Thank you, professor!”
Professor Harvey: “Be cautious when studying.”
…
It was already very late.
By the time Darc returned to his dorm, it was already past 9:30 PM.
After careful consideration, instead of experimenting, he chose to summon the Mana Book and memorize the basic part of the “Soul Curse” through copying.
Memorizing it without missing anything took him two days.
On the second night, he began to study each sentence of the basic “Soul Curse.”
With the basic version of the “Soul Curse” as a foundation, Darc’s research went smoothly.
His understanding of the basic “Soul Curse” deepened rapidly.
However, he still did not attempt it lightly.
The “Soul Curse” touches the soul; a slight mistake could cause severe consequences, so he had to be extremely cautious!
Under such circumstances, Darc did not forget about the secret passage exploration due to his obsession with the “Soul Curse.”
On Friday night, he prepared his items again, and early Saturday morning, he set out to enter the secret passages and began another round of exploration.
Walking in the secret passages without any anomalies was actually a very tedious and unbearable experience.
Darc couldn’t maintain high alertness all the time.
Later, he mostly sat on the lion beast’s shoulders reading to pass the time, and every hour, he would let the “Trash Slime” evolve into “Greed Slime II” for a fifteen-minute search.
From the beginning, he had prepared for a long battle.
Without much hope, he didn’t feel disappointed after searching fruitlessly.
After walking all day, he delved deeper into the secret passages, choosing a completely different route than before.
When he let the “Trash Slime” evolve into “Greed Slime II,” he started observing the surrounding terrain—looking for suitable places to set up a camp.
But soon, “Greed Slime II” suddenly became excited!
Darc immediately snapped to attention, commanding the lion beast to accelerate in the direction indicated by “Greed Slime II.”
When “Greed Slime II” degenerated back into a “Trash Slime,” the white mandala “Flower Card” in Darc’s hand finally reacted. Pure white mandalas flew out from the card face, forming a long chain like wind chimes, flying forward.
Darc’s gaze flashed: “Found it!”
