Chapter 888: The Secret of Three Gifts on Easter
“On Easter, indeed, it’s a very critical time node.”
Dark slightly raised his head and looked towards Professor Kazel, who was glancing sideways at him.
Professor Kazel nodded slightly at him.
He immediately said, “Can this blood be restored to an active state?”
Professor Kazel deliberated, “We need to carefully test it before we can confirm, but it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”
Dark slightly relaxed and said, “Then I entrust it to you, Professor.”
Professor Kazel sighed, “I didn’t expect that there were traces of blood in the soil of the scabbard. If we can restore its activity, perhaps we can identify whose blood it is and gain more guidance from it.”
Dark nodded, “If this is divine blood…”
Professor Kazel said, “If it’s divine blood, we must rely on favorable timing and favorable location. Fortunately, we discovered it in time, and we still have over twenty-four hours to prepare.”
Dark said, “Then let’s put this drop of blood here.”
As he spoke, he pushed aside the fifth culture dish and then brought the fourth culture dish in front of him.
Being able to find that drop of blood was all he could do. What followed could only be left to the professors.
And now, he needed to continue studying the black substance in the fourth culture dish.
…
The black substance in the fourth culture dish, when permeating the soil, appeared as a dried solid.
But when Dark separated it from the soil, due to contact with water, it now had a gel-like texture.
Dark slightly frowned and placed it in the vessel, gradually heating it up.
As the temperature of the flame slowly rose, the black substance expanded minutely.
The originally rough gel surface stretched and became smoother, acquiring a translucent appearance.
Dark squinted, and golden light shimmered in his eyes.
He continuously activated the Eye of Truth, examining the changes in the black substance.
When the flame temperature reached an extremely high point, some changes finally occurred within the black substance.
Dark took a deep breath, extinguished the flame, and then took out a needle with an extremely long tip, slowly pressing it into the gel surface.
“Pssh.”
The pressure exceeded a certain limit, instantly piercing through the gel surface of the black mist substance.
A tiny amount of liquid black fluid instantly shot out from the small hole.
Dark immediately used mana to create a force field barrier around his wrist, just enough to block the black fluid.
That small amount of black fluid fell into the vessel, emitting a highly stimulating acidic smell!
Before Dark could react, pure white light descended from above his head, falling onto his body and instantly purifying the toxins he had absorbed.
At almost the same time, a square transparent cover appeared around the vessel, completely enclosing the black substance.
Dark quickly withdrew his hand, revealing a look of relief.
However, the vessel touched by the splashed black fluid was corroded with a large hole in just a blink of an eye. The fluid continued to fall and was caught by the barrier-shaped cover.
On the other side, the gel portion of the black substance also slowly leaked black fluid from the punctured small opening, not only corroding the entire vessel but also destroying the heating device underneath.
This black substance, once melted, clearly possessed extreme toxicity!
…
“What is that?” Professor Metia frowned, staring at the black substance.
It was she who reacted promptly, instantly creating a barrier.
Professor Shylph released a purification spell.
Dark did not have time to thank them, his gaze fixed on the black substance that was gradually corroding everything inside the barrier.
This black substance seemed to have come alive, with the original gel shell softening into a liquid flow. As the corrosion intensified, the overall quality and size of the liquid increased.
In this situation, describing it as mere “corrosion” was no longer appropriate; it should be called “consumption”!
“Could this be the pollution from the Celestial Court?”
Dark couldn’t help but say.
…
Everyone present temporarily set aside their research and focused on the black substance.
Professor Shylph directly stated, “If this is something Cynthia特意 sent, it is likely the pollution from the Celestial Court.”
Dark said, “I seem to sense a familiar feeling from it. It’s like… the black substances I encountered in the temple of the Free City? No, they’re somewhat similar, but actually different. If this is something Principal Altair specially sent, what is she trying to tell us? To prepare methods for purifying and eliminating this pollution?”
Professor Shylph said, “It’s not impossible.”
Professor Metia said, “But can’t this be contained by a barrier and purified by a spell?”
Professor Shylph said, “Quantity leads to qualitative change. It might be because there’s too little of it and it has been solidified for too long, making its pollution and toxicity extremely weak. Look, from how it consumes the vessel, its pollution is gradually increasing. This is a very dangerous substance!”
Professor Kazel also agreed, “Even just this small edge is already so dangerous, it’s hard to imagine what kind of material its source is.”
Professor Metia said, “Then wouldn’t the difficulty of researching a countermeasure increase?”
After observing for a while, Professor Kazel solemnly said, “It’s not that simple. If this pollution is something even the gods in the Celestial Court cannot solve, then our probability of finding a countermeasure is zero.”
Professor Metia frowned, “Then what’s the significance of Altair sending it?”
Professor Kazel looked up and glanced at Eralganie, saying slowly, “We have the Wisdom Brain.”
…
Eralganie’s Wisdom Brain gave the professors great confidence.
But if one thinks carefully, if the consciousness of the twelve gods of Polobos is truly still in the Celestial Court, then the consciousness of Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom among the twelve gods, should also be there!
But even Athena couldn’t solve the pollution…
“No, even if Eralganie’s physical body is really Athena, and Athena’s heart is in the underground city of Saint Maryann Academy, with her soul integrated into the law, what can she do with just her consciousness? Has she lost the ability to use the Wisdom Brain?”
“Or is it that although the pollution is solved, the aftereffects caused by it cannot be eliminated?”
Dark’s mind flashed with various speculations, and finally he shook his head, concluding that the pollution hadn’t been solved.
“In any case, let’s try this route first. But before that, we need to try cracking it with our own strength. If that fails, we can rely on the Wisdom Brain.”
…
Finally, Professor Kazel took out a special bottle that uses gravity magic to control the contents at the center without touching the bottle itself, temporarily storing the pollution inside.
With this, the research on the scabbard was temporarily concluded.
Dark found three key points in the seemingly ordinary scabbard:
1. Patterns resembling a beastman totem.
2. Blood that needs to be activated.
3. Black pollution.
…
At the same time, Professor Kazel had already found an entry point from the clothes.
Just like the scabbard, the clothes themselves weren’t anything rare.
But the divine emblem on the chest had significant research value.
Due to Eralganie’s presence, Professor Kazel had actually studied documents about the twelve gods and had some understanding of their emblems.
However, the divine emblem on the clothes differed significantly from the recorded emblems of the twelve gods.
Because the records were too old, the correctness of the documents couldn’t be verified.
So he couldn’t judge whether the emblem on the clothes was one of the twelve gods’ emblems.
But if he went to the library with the emblem pattern, he might find books related to it.
— This was the magical part of Saint Maryann Academy’s library.
Additionally, after Dark extracted the soil, Professor Kazel tried to remove the dirt from the clothes.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t extract anything meaningful from the dirt.
Instead, he found a deeply hidden hair from the thread seam of the clothes!
It was a dark green hair strand very close to the color of the clothes.
If not examined closely, it would be mistaken for a thread end.
Finally, the tear on the left shoulder of the clothes was considered to be cut by a sharp object, as the threads on the tear were very neat.
But after the clothes were cut, they were repeatedly washed, so it was regrettable that no bloodstains or similar things were found.
In summary, the clothes had two key points:
1. A divine emblem of unknown origin.
2. A hair strand of unknown origin.
…
Compared to what Dark found in the scabbard, these two key points from the clothes were insufficient, but it was still a breakthrough.
Finally, there was only the ordinary stone in Professor Metia’s hand, which resembled an egg.
— Clearly, it couldn’t really be an ordinary stone!
“This is a fossil!”
Professor Metia said with great certainty.
…
Although no one knew how she determined this, everyone soon accepted her statement.
The fossil contained some form of biological Life Code.
It was akin to the Bio Pearl in Dark’s hand, recording genetic information of a specific organism.
Magus could extract genetic information from such materials, and based on this, develop directed formulations to bring ancient species back to life.
This method sounded simple, but it wasn’t easy.
Moreover, it was a fossil with no prior information. Without extracting and comparing its genetic information, it was impossible to determine what kind of creature it belonged to.
“Why did Principal Altair give us this fossil?” Professor Metia rubbed her forehead, somewhat troubled.
Sister Carrian said, “Perhaps the golem created from it could aid in exploring the Celestial Court?”
Professor Metia sighed, “That’s the only option.”
…
Professor Shylph said, “Regardless, we have to do it. Since we have entry points for the three items, we can appropriately divide the tasks. Let’s start with this fossil. Who will take responsibility?”
Professor Metia simply spread her hands, “I really don’t know how to handle this.”
Professor Shylph slightly frowned and looked at Sister Carrian and Ophelia.
Sister Carrian shook her head, “I can’t, but I can assist.”
Ophelia sighed, “I can, but it will take time. I doubt it can be completed in a short period.”
Dark suggested, “Why not ask Professor Harvey?”
Professor Shylph frowned, “Professor Harvey needs to watch over Caleb Norris, which is also important.”
Dark shook his head, “Don’t think it can be done both ways. If it’s Professor Harvey, he should be able to transform the biological entity from the fossil the fastest. As for Caleb Norris, someone else could handle it, right?”
Professor Shylph said, “Who else?”
Dark said, “Professor Heldred Bode.”
Professor Shylph pondered, “That’s a good idea.”
Dark said, “Tonight’s meeting was originally supposed to have a plan to vote on whether to promote Professor Bode to sequence three?”
Professor Shylph helplessly said, “That was indeed one of the proposals.
Let Cynthia officially join our organization.”
Dark said, “Professor Bode is trustworthy. How about we treat this task as a test for him?”
“Heldred Bode?” Sister Carrian frowned in thought and said, “Not everyone knows him well. Personally, I think a test is necessary. Our membership criteria, especially above sequence three, can’t be too lenient.”
Everyone chimed in, briefly discussed, and quickly reached a consensus.
Professor Shylph nodded, “Then let’s do that. I’ll have Professor Bode replace Professor Harvey. For the next month, it will serve as his probation period. After things settle down, we’ll reconvene and make the final decision by voting. Sound good?”
“Sounds good.”
“Seconded.”
“+1.”
“+1.”
…
“Then,” Dark summarized, “let Professor Harvey handle the fossil, and have Sister Carrian and Ophelia assist him.”
Professor Shylph said, “Next, the scabbard and clothes.”
Dark said, “The scabbard and clothes share a key point that requires research. Let Aurora and the others handle this.”
Professor Shylph looked over there.
Aurora, Diana, and Rose were slightly nervous, not expecting Dark to suddenly mention them.
But Professor Shylph quickly agreed, “The patterns on the scabbard and the divine symbols on the clothes can indeed be handled by them. However, if anyone has time, they can also check the library. The remaining issues are the blood and black pollution on the scabbard, and the hair inside the clothes.”
Professor Kazel said, “The most critical part is the blood. It must be activated before Easter ends. I’ll take charge of this. As for the black pollution, we’ll investigate it after Easter.”
Professor Shylph asked, “What about the hair?”
Professor Kazel shook his head, “I can’t sense any divinity in that hair. It’s difficult to handle. Frankly, I’m at a loss.”
“Given that,” Professor Shylph said, “the rest of us can help Professor Kazel prepare the ritual to activate the blood. During this time, we should try to figure out how to deal with the hair. Also, we can continue checking the three items; perhaps there are overlooked key points.”
“Alright,” Professor Kazel said. “Time waits for no one. Tonight, I’ll draft a plan, and we’ll act tomorrow.”
Dark pondered, “I’ll take the scabbard back to my dorm to look at it again.”
Professor Metia frowned and said, “Can I see the clothes then?”
Professor Kazel pushed the clothes directly to Professor Metia, “Of course.”
“Eh? What about me?” Professor Lily suddenly interjected.
Professor Jones glanced at her and said, “You and I will patrol the academy.”
Professor Shylph said, “Someone needs to stay at the academy during Easter.”
…
Everyone had clear roles.
Professor Shylph needed to stay at the academy to cover up the fact that Principal Altair hadn’t returned.
And Dark also had to take care of the exchange students—this was equally important.
Saint Maryann Academy couldn’t fall into disarray due to Principal Altair’s disappearance, especially at this moment. They absolutely couldn’t let the Church of the Saints know about this.
Furthermore, Eralganie would likely start researching the black pollution early.
The conditions for using the Wisdom Brain were quite strict.
She had to be sure she couldn’t find a solution before using it.
In this light, Athena, one of the twelve gods, might have known too much and thus couldn’t use the Wisdom Brain.
So, the remaining ones were Eve and Chris.
Chris wasn’t an organizational member, while Eve needed to report everything to Alvaraite and Claire.
Moreover, Easter was one of the busiest times for the branch.
She also lacked the foundation for experiments.
After reassigning tasks clearly, Dark declared the meeting over under Professor Shylph’s nod.
Everyone left the hidden place quietly using their own methods.
Dark summoned his [Adventure Bird] and used [Secret Feathers], taking Aurora, Diana, and Rose away silently.
Once they entered the castle, he retracted the [Secret Feathers]’ barrier.
Night was deep, but Aurora, Diana, and Rose had a mission. They wanted to rush to the library to search, every second counted.
Dark thought for a moment and nodded, “Go ahead. I’ll tell the construct not to stop you.”
“Okay.” Diana raised her hand and clenched her fist, “We’ll definitely complete the task!”
The three girls ran towards the library with notebooks containing the scabbard patterns and divine symbols.
Moonlight slanted, casting long shadows on the ground.
After watching them leave, Dark turned and headed towards the tower of the Noble Academy.
He walked and pondered, feeling his steps were unsteady, unable to see the path ahead clearly.
Principal Altair’s disappearance was like a warning bell ringing in his heart, reminding him that the world wasn’t always smooth sailing.
Tonight’s meeting seemed productive, with everyone assigned their own tasks, keeping them busy.
But in reality?
The most crucial matter—rescuing Principal Altair—wasn’t even mentioned.
The professors of Saint Maryann Academy generally believed:
If even Principal Altair couldn’t solve something, others wouldn’t be able to either.
Now that Principal Altair had vanished, though the professors weren’t panicking like ants in a pot, they did lose a central pillar.
They might subconsciously believe that, with their abilities, going to rescue him would be pointless.
Under this subconscious influence, they focused entirely on studying the three items.
They told themselves: Once they understand what Principal Altair wants to convey, they’ll consider rescuing him.
While this isn’t exactly avoidance, it’s close.
If they had confidence, they’d start preparing for the rescue now.
That being said, Dark felt similar.
He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache.
The three items Principal Altair took could be key.
But focusing solely on these items was absolutely insufficient.
To rescue and enter the Mountain of Gods or the Heavenly Court, they needed equal strength.
Before full preparation, they could only pray that Principal Altair could hold on by himself.
So, how could they improve their basic strength?
Professors Shylph, Kazel, and others were already at the peak.
In the short term, they couldn’t achieve significant breakthroughs.
Theoretically, they could rely on external help.
The strongest aid would be another Saint, Valkyrie—Alvaraite Saint Demon!
Of course, Alvaraite couldn’t be considered external aid.
But in this critical period, Alvaraite couldn’t leave the capital.
Without Alvaraite’s arrival, even if Claire, Olivia, and others were called, it wouldn’t bring decisive change.
Was there another way?
Yes.
Only a god could stand against a god.
…
After Easter, there was something that had to be prioritized.
…
Unbeknownst to him, Dark had arrived outside the tower of the Noble Academy.
The Feathered Serpent’s construct suddenly opened its eyes, green light shooting from its eyes towards the scabbard in its hand.
To avoid drawing attention, he put the scabbard in a box.
After a brief flash of green light, the Feathered Serpent construct closed its eyes again.
Dark initially thought it could see the scabbard’s unique features, but now felt disappointed.
Still, he gave detailed instructions to the construct, telling it not to lock Aurora, Diana, and Rose outside.
The Feathered Serpent construct rolled its eyes and closed them again, looking indifferent.
But Dark knew it understood.
So, Dark approached the door and pushed it open with some effort.
Instantly, the heat from within rushed out, along with an unpleasant odor.
Dark frowned and saw chaos in the common room.
People were scattered randomly on the visible sofas and chairs.
He scanned and noticed a few second-year boys and some unknown upperclassmen.
Except for them, the common room was empty, with food, garbage, and a broken cup scattered on tables and floors.
The cup, dropped by someone, left a wet stain on the carpet where its contents had spilled.
He faintly heard snores.
These people had fallen asleep.
Dark didn’t feel like cleaning up, so he tiptoed through the common room and ascended the stairs.
“Wait!”
Suddenly, someone called out sharply.
Dark instinctively turned around and saw one of the boys lying on the sofa raise his hand, then slide off the sofa to the floor, face down.
— A second-year boy from the Noble Academy.
Dark frowned, getting a bad feeling.
But he continued up, reaching the second floor, then the third.
Chaotic noise hit him instantly.
Several rooms were open, second-year students running between dormitories, despite the late hour.
Familiar laughter echoed, each person seeming very excited.
Dark glanced left and right; the girls’ dorms were relatively quiet, while the commotion came mainly from the boys’ dorms. The loudest noise seemed to be from Pistons’ room.
“What are they doing?”
Dark murmured and headed toward his own room.
His room was at the end, passing by almost all the boys’ rooms.
Naturally, he glanced into the open doors.
At Pistons’ room, he finally stopped.
Inside, a strong smell of alcohol wafted out!
…
No matter the era, Dark never liked drinking.
But his tolerance was decent, just not interested in alcohol.
Of course, there were exceptional brews like Fairy Wine, which required separate mention.
The alcohol smell from Pistons’ room wasn’t poor quality, but certainly not a premium brew.
However, it had a hint of fruit aroma.
“Fruit wine?”
Dark frowned and quickly entered the room.
Suddenly, a voice startled him.
“Ahhh, I am the hero! I, am, the hero!”
Dark’s face changed abruptly.
The voice undoubtedly belonged to Saint Son Evan Pearson!
“Duron and the others actually got the Saint Son drunk!”
Dark rushed inside.
What he saw were second-year boys sprawled awkwardly.
Duron, Pistons, Lentchen… and most importantly, Evan Pearson!
Evan Pearson, who usually maintained a cool image, was now sprawled on the floor, his face flushed red like cooked shrimp, eyes
Amidst the confusion, he kept muttering words like “Hero,” “Hero,” “Wit,” “Dark,”…
“Hold on, why is he mumbling my name? I didn’t provoke him!”
Dark frowned and kicked Tudor who had rolled to his feet.
“Guh… guh…” Tudor mumbled, hugging his leg tightly.
Dark: “…”
Getting drunk from fruit wine was one thing, after all, some fruit wines in this world were quite potent.
But how could you get yourself drunk while giving someone else alcohol?
And, giving alcohol to the Saint Son?
I can’t believe you thought of that!
If Archbishop Caleb Norris found out, you wouldn’t even be protected by the Dragon Claw Knights!
“Little Imp Beast.”
“Yes!”
The Little Imp Beast fluttered its wings and flew over from behind, then folded its wings and stood on his shoulder.
Dark said, “Go call a few Golems over here and move these guys to their respective dormitories. Also, there are a few more downstairs.”
“Got it!” The Little Imp Beast immediately obeyed.
But before flying away, it suddenly asked, “What if we don’t know where their rooms are?”
Dark: “Just pick any room, but make sure they’re put on the bed.”
“Alright!” The Little Imp Beast flapped its wings and flew out of the room.
Only then did Dark bend down and pry open Tudor’s fingers, successfully freeing his foot.
As for the Saint Son of the Church of the Saints, they absolutely couldn’t drink alcohol until they graduated from the Mana Academy.
If he were to take out a recording ball now and record Evan Pearson—
Of course, Dark would never do something so despicable.
And if this were exposed, the main offenders Tudor and Pearson would surely be punished.
Fortunately, Tudor and Pearson seemed somewhat sensible and didn’t directly give alcohol to the Saint Son in the Common Room—right?
Those downstairs looked more like they had gone down themselves to drink.
In this situation, as long as no one saw the Saint Son turn into a mess, this incident could be sealed away as a secret and forgotten for now.
“This is really frustrating. Why are they all so troublesome?”
Dark slapped his forehead and turned to leave.
He really didn’t want to deal with the Saint Son anymore.
Nor did he want to think about how the Saint Son managed to be persuaded to drink.
It was too boring.
…
After hearing the message from the Little Imp Beast, Dark’s Golems sprang into action.
Soon, the second-year corridor would return to its tranquil state.
Dark entered his dormitory, sat down at his desk, and opened the box, taking out the sword sheath and placing it on the table.
His decision to bring back the sword sheath wasn’t arbitrary.
A sword sheath exists for a sword.
And in his dormitory, there just happened to be a sword without a sheath.
Though slightly different in size, it was of the right length.
So, Dark’s initial idea was to bring back the sheath and try fitting the sword into it.
Would inserting the sword trigger anything?
With this in mind, Dark got up again, took out the Jade Holy Sword that had been stored in his dormitory for a long time, and held it.
The Jade Holy Sword was a grass-type holy sword, with a blade resembling jade, and an elliptical handle with a hollowed-out center. There was no visible guard between the blade and handle.
Holding the handle, he could hold it like a spear, and then shoot a beam similar to a Sunbeam!
Although it differed slightly from traditional swords, the Jade Holy Sword was quite practical.
Dark carried the Jade Holy Sword with him during his trip to the Free City.
Now, he inserted the sword into the sheath, and as half of the blade entered, he suddenly felt a tremor in the sheath!
“It moved!”
Even in Professor Kazel’s eyes, this ordinary sheath actually changed when the sword was inserted!
Dark immediately felt mana flow from his palm, guiding it into the sheath.
The patterns on the sheath began to glow faintly, showing a hint of the Jade Holy Sword’s green.
As the Jade Holy Sword was gradually inserted, the sheath subtly changed shape, eventually perfectly enveloping the entire blade!
The sheath’s shape also transformed into a special streamlined form due to the Jade Holy Sword.
“Whoosh!”
The blade was perfectly sheathed!
…
“Eye of Truth!”
Dark’s eyes opened, and golden light flashed.
The value of the sheath containing the Jade Holy Sword in the Eye of Truth drastically changed!
“What’s going on?”
Dark was shocked.
He guessed the value of the sheath might change, but never imagined it would change so much.
The value of the sheath was now almost equal to that of the Jade Holy Sword.
“Whoosh!”
He quickly pulled out the Jade Holy Sword and looked through the Eye of Truth again.
But the sheath showed no changes after the Jade Holy Sword was removed, retaining its original shape and green coloration.
Its value didn’t decrease either.
However, as he glanced at the Jade Holy Sword, he suddenly frowned, sensing something strange.
After pondering for a moment, he reinserted the Jade Holy Sword into the sheath.
When the Jade Holy Sword was sheathed, green light from the blade seeped through the intricate patterns of the sheath, flowing like water.
Gradually, the material of the sheath started to change, transforming from its original copper-like substance to a jade-like texture.
This transformation was truly unbelievable.
Dark stared intently at the sheath for a couple of minutes before suddenly drawing the sword!
“Eye of Truth, activate!”
Activating the Eye of Truth again, he noticed a subtle increase in the sheath’s value.
Then he turned to look at the Jade Holy Sword, and found its value had decreased by a similar amount!
The increase and decrease were quite evident.
Dark took a deep breath and whispered, “What is this thing that can absorb the power of a holy sword…”
He placed the Jade Holy Sword temporarily on the table and carefully examined the sheath, which now had a hint of jade coloration.
With his increasingly sharp senses, Dark quickly discovered the sheath contained grass-type energy.
This discovery inspired him to walk to the balcony, slightly open the window, and extend the tip of the sheath outside, trying to infuse it with mana.
Mana gradually drained, and the sheath indeed emitted a faint green light.
But the green light flickered twice before abruptly extinguishing.
Dark suddenly realized he lacked the qualities of a hero and thus couldn’t control the power of the holy sword.
“Deoxys!”
At his call, Deoxys, who had just returned, approached.
Dark bent down and picked up Deoxys, handing him the sheath and saying, “Try injecting mana.”
Deoxys, confused, grabbed the sheath and within a second, frowned deeply. “Is this a holy sword?”
Dark shook his head. “No, it’s a sheath that absorbed some of the holy sword’s power.”
Deoxys understood and, in Dark’s arms, aimed the sheath out the window and injected mana.
Mana continuously flowed into the sheath, and the faint green light reappeared.
The light spread from the fingertips to the tip of the sheath, gathering at the end.
About thirty seconds later, the green light on the sheath suddenly brightened, forming a clear line from the base to the tip. All the green light instantly converged along that line, rapidly forming a bright sphere.
In the next second, the sphere transformed into a beam of light, shooting towards the sky!
“Whoosh—”
The beam pierced through the night sky and vanished swiftly.
Students looking in that direction blinked, puzzled, and walked toward the balcony, but only remnants of mana remained in the air.
…
“Though less powerful, this is indeed the beam cannon of the Jade Holy Sword.”
Deoxys spoke calmly, though a slight blush appeared on his cheeks.
“Alright, you can put me down now.”
…
After putting Deoxys down, Dark retrieved the sheath and activated the Eye of Truth again.
Through the Eye of Truth, the sheath’s value hadn’t changed.
Even after firing a shot, its value didn’t drop due to energy depletion.
This clearly indicated that the sheath absorbed the essence of the holy sword!
If he continued inserting the Jade Holy Sword, the sheath might absorb all its power.
Dark thought, “What if I insert other swords? What changes will occur? And what if it’s not a holy sword? Or a summoned sword from a Magic Card? Let’s find out!”
…
…
[Two thousand words in one burst! Consider voting with your monthly ticket…]
[One more chapter before six o’clock.]
—
Chapter 889
Acting on impulse.
Dark’s dormitory didn’t have any swords other than the Jade Holy Sword, but he had the Solo Sword Sheath which he could summon.
The experiment was simple.
He merely summoned the Solo Sword Sheath, weaponized it, drew the sword, and tried inserting it into the special sheath, observing changes in its mana.
The final result was that the mana of the Solo Sword Sheath was indeed absorbed, causing the sheath’s shape to change, perfectly fitting the Solo Sword Sheath.
But through the Eye of Truth, Dark noticed the sheath’s value didn’t increase.
Even when Deoxys tried wielding the sword, it was clear the holy sword’s power couldn’t be activated.
Clearly, the sheath could adapt to the Solo Sword Sheath and absorb its mana, but not its essence—likely still trapped in the Magic Card.
Without the essence, the sheath couldn’t fully utilize the holy sword’s power, making it largely useless.
Thinking this through, Dark said, “Deoxys, try reverting this sheath to its state with the Jade Holy Sword.”
“Okay.” Deoxys nodded and immediately infused mana.
The sheath visibly changed shape!
“It really worked!”
Dark watched the sheath transform into the shape of the Jade Holy Sword, feeling a mix of shock and amazement.
This ability to change forms suggested the sheath could gather power from multiple holy swords and adjust accordingly.
To further confirm this, a second holy sword would be needed…
Dark had a second holy sword, but he gave it to Victoria.
As long as Victoria hadn’t messed around, the holy sword should still be intact…
However, the sheath itself wouldn’t fully unleash the holy sword’s power unless it absorbed all of it.
Since Dark already gave the Blood Holy Sword to Victoria, retrieving it was impossible.
Thus, after careful consideration, he decided against further experiments with the Blood Holy Sword.
It was pointless.
He also didn’t attempt to have the sheath absorb the Jade Holy Sword’s power since it didn’t belong to him yet.
“Upon reflection, the mechanism of this sheath seems fundamentally similar to that of a hero.”
“A hero candidate with heroic qualities often needs to gain recognition from many holy swords to supplement their thin bloodline, eventually becoming a true hero.”
“And this sheath seems to…
Could the body of a hero absorb multiple holy swords, and what might that ultimately transform into?
Dark’s heart stirred, gradually sparking curiosity.
“However, using a scabbard as a sword always feels off… Hmm?”
Just as Dark was thinking this, he suddenly heard a sound, and instinctively turned his head to look.
This one glance instantly filled his face with shock.
Deoxys, holding a scabbard, suddenly made a motion as if drawing a sword, and then actually pulled out an emerald holy sword formed from light green mana!
“How did you do that?”
Dark immediately asked.
But Deoxys had a serious expression, observing the emerald holy sword in his hand very seriously.
Suddenly, he raised his hand and shook it hard.
The emerald holy sword made of condensed mana shattered like glass, dispersing into particles in his hand.
As Dark was puzzled by this, Deoxys pointed at the scabbard and said, “Take another look.”
Dark understood and immediately opened the “Eye of Truth.”
“What now?” Deoxys asked.
Dark replied, “Its value has decreased, but not much.”
Deoxys said, “That’s right. I absorbed a bit of the ‘Emerald Holy Sword’ power from the scabbard and mixed it with mana to pull it out, turning it into a mana-infused sword. But because the extracted power was too small, it became very fragile.”
Dark said, “So, as long as enough holy sword power is drawn out and mixed with mana, it can form a mana sword that is almost indistinguishable from a true holy sword?”
Deoxys nodded, “That’s how I feel.”
Dark was excited, “Let me try.”
But Deoxys looked at him disdainfully and said, “You can’t.”
“Hmph.” Dark, not believing it, took the scabbard, injecting mana into it.
Then, he realized he shouldn’t have doubted it.
Without a hero’s bloodline, one cannot control holy sword power, let alone draw the essence of a holy sword from the scabbard and mix it with mana to create a mana sword.
Facing Deoxys’s cold ridicule, Dark stubbornly said, “If so, then fill the scabbard with an ordinary magic sword!”
Deoxys said, “It doesn’t matter. Give me the scabbard.”
Dark handed the scabbard back.
After taking the scabbard, Deoxys injected mana again to check.
When Dark thought he was going to perform the “sword-drawing,” Deoxys suddenly looked up and said, “If my perception is correct, this scabbard should be able to store the power of multiple holy swords, creating a mana sword infused with multiple essences.”
“Fusion?” Dark frowned.
Deoxys said, “Of course, there may also be compatibility issues. For example, water and fire holy sword essences may be hard to combine. But that can only be done after possessing multiple holy swords.”
Dark said, “If this can be done, this scabbard can be considered a divine artifact.”
Deoxys nodded, “It is undoubtedly a divine artifact.”
Dark’s mind stirred, pondering, “Since this scabbard is so powerful, what about the other two items? The scabbard needs to be inserted into a sword to activate; as for that fossil, we won’t talk about it. Does that piece of clothing need to be worn to reveal its true power?”
Deoxys rolled his eyes and said, “Inserting an ordinary sword definitely won’t work. It might only work with a holy sword or a similarly ranked sword.”
Dark said, “We’ll find out tomorrow.”
“Meow.” Deoxys didn’t want to talk anymore, casually throwing the scabbard back to him and walking toward the bathroom.
Dark shook his head, putting the scabbard back on the table, temporarily setting aside further research.
The gains from tonight were already substantial.
He didn’t think he could discover anything new from this scabbard.
Afterwards, he sat down and meticulously recorded everything he learned tonight in his notebook for future reference.
…
That night, Dark drew two points of [Bliss] and fell into a deep sleep.
He slept deeply, waking up at seven in the morning.
But upon waking, he felt refreshed, with all gloom gone.
Yet, after fully waking up and recalling last night’s events, his brows furrowed again.
There was always pressure, and anxiety was hard to dispel.
“Easter…”
In his second Easter at Saint Maryann Academy, Dark was contemplating whether to go to the cafeteria for a meal.
Every year on Easter, the half-elf chefs in the cafeteria would paint various poultry eggs with edible dyes, boil them, and give them to students dining there.
So even though Traveler’s Street was open, ninety-nine percent of the students would choose to eat in the cafeteria.
Last Easter, Dark enjoyed the surprise of Easter eggs with friends and magical creatures.
But today, he just wanted to quickly get to the secret lab.
Moreover, Aurora, Diana, and Rose probably didn’t wake up early after staying in the library until late last night.
Eating alone in the cafeteria wasn’t fun… Well, okay, let’s go.
Dark sighed inwardly, always unable to resist his little cuties at home.
After washing up, Dark led a whole string of magical creatures to the cafeteria.
Passing by Diana and Rose’s dorm room, he glanced and saw no signs of them opening the door, so he went downstairs.
Not only Diana and Rose, but many boys from the Second Year Noble Academy were likely still hungover, possibly missing the Easter Duel Festival.
“I wonder how Evan Pearson will react after arriving here? Should be interesting, huh?”
Dark thought with some malicious glee.
If Evan Pearson’s faith was sincere, he would confess to the [Holy] after waking up.
Of course, Dark didn’t see any signs of faith in him.
Evan Pearson’s dream was to become a true hero, not a bishop or pope.
As Dark left the Noble Academy’s tower, he suddenly had an idea and turned to ask the feathered serpent golem, “Excuse me, did Aurora, Diana, and Rose return last night?”
The feathered serpent golem slowly opened its eyes, shook its head, and slowly closed them again.
Dark couldn’t help but sigh again and walked toward the castle bridge.
An imp beast stood proudly on his shoulder.
Eevee and Eievui chased each other around him.
A small dream beast and a poison pincers danced “face-to-face figure eight” in the air.
Meow and Deoxys followed closely behind.
A demon fox beast looked indifferent.
Huhu summoned a mana creature for transportation.
Ditto sat on Huhu’s back.
Trash slime sat on top of Ditto.
More mana creatures emerged from the Magical Animal Club, gradually forming a long procession.
This was a unique sight seen only in the current Saint Maryann Academy, a time-limited scene.
…
After Audrey Jeane and Jesse Louise had breakfast together, they were about to leave the cafeteria and head to the library when they saw the long procession.
Audrey’s fair face showed indescribable astonishment after processing the information.
After a moment, she couldn’t hide her surprise and asked, “Jesse, does the academy allow such a showy display of mana creatures?”
Jesse Louise looked blank, unsure how to respond.
Last night, she was assigned to Fool’s Academy’s tower to ensure the Saint Maiden had a good learning experience, so she studied the academy rules carefully.
But rules are static, people are dynamic. Some people have special privileges, doing things others can’t.
Dark Demon must be part of Saint Maryann Academy’s “privileged class,” Jesse Louise thought, saying to Audrey Jeane, “Maybe he’s special.”
How special!
Audrey Jeane’s gaze was fixed on Dark’s mana creatures.
A few days ago at the academy, she had glimpsed a few mana creatures, but hadn’t paid much attention.
Seeing so many suddenly, she finally noticed their uniqueness.
“Jesse,” Audrey Jeane said solemnly, “Do you think it’s possible his mana creatures are special?”
…
No matter what opinion Audrey Jeane wanted to express, it wouldn’t affect Dark or his mana creatures.
Saint Maryann Academy students were used to it and didn’t pay much attention.
Half-elf chefs laughed as they placed colorful eggs in the mana creatures’ plates, even serving food the mana creatures liked.
Dark’s group occupied a large area of the cafeteria.
Mana creatures sat down and grabbed the eggs, opening them to reveal all sorts of strange flavors.
Some mana creatures were lucky enough to draw Easter tickets; the most common being credit coupons that could be exchanged for several credits. Meow, a lucky kitten, won a second prize ticket and got a half-finished [Food Card] from a half-elf chef!
The imp beast, disappointed, lay on the table, having drawn nothing this year.
…
Patiently, Dark accompanied the mana creatures through breakfast before heading to the library.
In the library’s reading room, he indeed found Diana and Rose engrossed in books.
Diana had a piece of bread in her mouth and a cup of hot tea on the side, having eaten breakfast.
Rose’s table only had a small dish, suggesting she had finished eating.
Despite a night of searching, Diana remained energetic, while Rose looked visibly tired.
Dark glanced around, not finding Aurora, guessing she was among the bookshelves looking for new books.
One searching, two flipping pages, they had divided tasks.
Thinking about how they stayed up all night researching while he slept soundly, Dark felt a bit embarrassed.
But considering their health, he walked over.
“Good morning, Dark,” Diana, with keen senses, looked up briefly, but continued reading after a greeting.
She was very focused, more so than when looking for end-of-term project materials.
The same was true for Rose.
Dark sat in the front row and asked gently, “Didn’t go back last night?”
“Yes!” Diana answered nonchalantly.
Rose seemed to want to hide something, but now there was no need to hide; she admitted guiltily, “We haven’t found the necessary materials yet.”
Dark shook his head, “To do a job well, one must first prepare the tools. Enduring fatigue only leads to half the results and increases the likelihood of errors. I’ll take you back to your dorm.”
Rose: “But…”
Dark said helplessly, “No buts.”
Then he looked back at Diana.
Diana looked up and immediately said, “I don’t need to!”
“Okay.” Surprisingly, Dark nodded directly.
People’s constitutions can’t be compared.
Rose’s physical condition was average, needing rest.
Diana and Aurora were completely different.
Even comparing constitutions, Dark couldn’t match them.
So, staying up all night wasn’t a problem for them.
And Aurora always managed her state well, so Dark didn’t worry.
Currently, it seemed their all-night effort wasn’t ideal.
“Did you find any clues?” Dark asked.
Rose shook her head, helplessly, “None at all.”
Dark said, “It seems finding relevant materials is extremely difficult. Let me go back and see if I can call a few mana creatures to help search.”
Rose exclaimed happily, “If that’s the case, that would be great.”
Dark smiled, “I’ll go check on Aurora… Yes, she’s coming.”
Aurora held a high
A stack of books, she walked steadily from the door.
With her dual heritage of the Sun Giant and the Moon Elf, such a small weight was nothing to her.
But suddenly seeing Dark made him feel inexplicably guilty, as if he were a middle school student caught staying up all night in an internet cafe.
“How’s the progress?” Dark asked again.
Aurora shook her head and said, “Almost none. There are too many books in the library, and I can only narrow down the scope by association, but it’s not very effective.”
Dark nodded and said, “Wait a moment, I’ll call some golems for help. You can take a break first, then come back with fresh energy.”
Aurora stuck out her tongue and said, “Actually, I’ve already rested for two hours. For me, two hours of rest is enough to keep my energy up.”
Dark said, “Take care of yourself and don’t push yourself. I’ll take Rose back first.”
…
Afterwards, Dark had a few more words with Aurora before taking Rose out of the library.
Only after sending Rose back to her dorm did Dark return to his own dormitory, bringing out everything he needed, including the scabbard.
Then, relying on the message passed by the Imp Beast and other golems, his intentions quickly reached all the golems’ ears.
Thus, anyone who could spare time and do so followed him to the library.
In this way, the number of people searching for information instantly grew to over ten.
The pressure on Aurora’s shoulders also eased considerably.
…
Dark did not stay in the library any longer.
After leaving the library, he went straight to the secret laboratory.
At this time, the Outdoor Duel Arena was bustling with students flooding in like a torrent.
The Easter Duel Festival, compared to regular competitions, was more inclined towards entertainment.
Students who had experienced the previous festival were particularly interested in the Preliminaries’ free-for-all round.
Therefore, more than half of the students signed up for the Preliminary free-for-all.
Dark hadn’t registered from the start, but actually, Diana and Rose had registered. However, they could only withdraw now.
He stopped to look at the bustling Outdoor Duel Arena, then decisively turned around.
The laughter in the Outdoor Duel Arena was enviable, but the students’ laughter could be maintained because someone was guarding this academy.
Dark avoided the attention and entered the secret place.
First, he found Professor Steven Harvey and Ophelia in the laboratory.
Professor Steven Harvey was clearly in a different position, working with Ophelia on studying the fossil.
The nun Sister Carrian, also assigned to this group, was forced to remain in the infirmary.
Extracting genetic information from a fossil was simple for Professor Steven Harvey, akin to picking tea leaves from tea water.
The real challenge lay in writing the equation for Directed Formulation based on this genetic information.
This process was extremely complex and difficult.
If they wanted to complete it in a short time, they could only hope that Professor Harvey’s vast knowledge would allow him to directly analyze the true species from the fossil’s genetic information.
That way, they could write the equation for Directed Formulation faster and better.
As for the actual formulation after having the equation…
There was no need to consider it.
…
The task was proceeding orderly.
Dark did not intervene excessively, merely waiting quietly for Professor Kazel to arrive.
Around 8:30 AM, Professor Kazel and Eralganie arrived at the secret place.
Dark led them into another spacious laboratory, saying on the way, “Professor Kazel, have you reached any conclusions?”
Professor Kazel nodded and said, “Thanks to Eralganie’s help, I have conceived a comprehensive plan. As long as the ceremony is set up according to my instructions in the secret passage and synchronized with Easter’s timing, we can reactivate that drop of blood. At that point, we can deduce which deity it belongs to based on the characteristics of the blood.”
“What time?” Dark asked.
Professor Kazel said, “Basically, as long as it’s completed before Easter ends. But if we want the best results, it would be best to do it after 10 PM tonight.”
Dark asked, “Have all resources been prepared?”
Professor Kazel said, “We have the inventory, but it needs to be organized. How about yours?”
The three of them entered the laboratory.
Dark took the scabbard out of the box and placed it on the table solemnly.
When Professor Kazel saw the scabbard, his pupils dilated, and he said, “Is this it?”
Dark nodded and said, “Although the appearance has changed, this is indeed the scabbard sent by Principal Altair.”
Professor Kazel curiously asked, “How did you do it?”
Dark pulled out another box containing the Emerald Holy Sword and said, “I inserted the Holy Sword into the scabbard, and it changed.”
As he spoke, he took out the Emerald Holy Sword and inserted it into the scabbard right in front of Professor Kazel.
“Clang!”
The Holy Sword was sheathed.
The scabbard began to absorb the power of the Holy Sword once more.
As the fundamental power of the Emerald Holy Sword was absorbed by the scabbard, its material became increasingly similar to that of the Emerald Holy Sword.
But after a simple demonstration, Dark quickly pulled out the Emerald Holy Sword.
With Professor Kazel’s keen eyes, he could already guess the basic mechanism of the scabbard after just one demonstration.
However, more information still needed to be obtained through experiments.
Dark recounted last night’s information and borrowed a magic sword from Professor Kazel.
Of course, Professor Kazel couldn’t carry a magic sword around, so he summoned a golem to bring one over.
Dark directly inserted the magic sword into the scabbard and observed carefully.
However, the result was completely unexpected.
The scabbard showed no change when the magic sword was inserted!
Professor Kazel immediately instructed the golem to fetch a normal, non-magical longsword.
But when Dark inserted this non-magical longsword into the scabbard, there was still no change.
At this point, the answer was fully revealed.
The scabbard only reacted to the Holy Sword!
…
“Of course, this might also be because the first weapon inserted into the scabbard was the Holy Sword, so it only reacts to the Holy Sword.”
“But regardless of the past, this scabbard is now dedicated to the Holy Sword.”
“If a hero holds the scabbard, not only can they draw out the fundamental power of the Holy Sword mixed with mana.”
“Moreover, they can fuse multiple sources of divine power from the Holy Church to create swords with dual attributes and even more attributes!”
“This scabbard seems to be specially prepared for heroes.”
Dark said this at an incredibly fast pace.
But Professor Kazel shook his head after hearing this: “Rather than being specially prepared for heroes, it seems to be an equipment designed to replace heroes. If my memory serves me correctly, Hero Bret Gold could create multi-attribute fusion Holy Swords on his own. Therefore, this scabbard would be useless in his hands.”
Dark frowned and said, “But its true power can only be unleashed by someone with heroic bloodline.”
Professor Kazel said, “This is indeed a contradiction. But there are countless hero candidates, yet only one true hero. This scabbard allows hero candidates to do what only heroes can do. For hero candidates, it might even be considered a divine artifact. However, currently, I see no help it offers for exploring the Heavenly Court.”
Dark said, “It seems so.”
Although this scabbard was a ‘divine artifact,’ it only increased personal power, and required using the Holy Sword as consumable material to enhance its power.
The key point was that even after enhancement, it couldn’t match the gods.
Unless it truly absorbed a large amount of Holy Swords!
Just like how a hero candidate, after receiving recognition from numerous Holy Swords, would become a true hero.
After absorbing a large amount of Holy Swords, this scabbard would definitely undergo a true transformation.
In other words, it was a growth-type equipment.
However, under the current urgent circumstances, a growth-type equipment wouldn’t bring significant help to Dark and others.
So although Dark uncovered the true power of the scabbard, they still believed that separating the ‘pollutant’ and ‘blood’ from the soil was the key to the key.
…
Not long after, Professors Metia and Shylph also arrived at the secret place.
“How is it? Have you discovered anything new?” Professor Kazel asked as soon as they entered.
But Professor Metia only shook her head and said, “I analyzed the specific materials and weaving techniques of the clothes, but it doesn’t seem to provide effective help for the current situation.”
Dark watched as she placed the clothes on the table and couldn’t help asking, “Why not try wearing it?”
“Try wearing it?” Professor Metia was startled, suddenly realizing.
The saying goes, those involved are confused, while observers are clear. They had been focusing on studying the surface features of the clothes, neglecting their basic function.
“This might be a good breakthrough; it’s worth trying.” Professor Shylph also furrowed her brows and asked, “Dark, how did you think of this?”
Dark picked up the scabbard and the Emerald Holy Sword and made a gesture.
Professor Shylph immediately understood, “Have you already triggered the hidden power of this scabbard?”
“I suppose so.” Dark briefly recounted the abilities of the scabbard.
Professor Metia grabbed the clothes and said, “I’ll try wearing it!”
But Dark quickly stopped her, “Why not summon a human-type golem to try it on?”
Professor Metia paused and said, “That’s true.”
So she picked a golem card from her deck and silently summoned it.
From the light of the summoning, a three-star, girl-type human golem appeared.
Professor Metia ordered her to pick up the clothes and try them on right away.
The girl’s chest was flat, but her figure was slender.
Professor Metia chose this golem for convenience.
Her upper body clothing was short and easy to put on and take off, and her pants were loose and casual.
Immediately afterward, Professor Metia ordered the golem to put on the clothes.
It was originally a long-sleeved top, with part of the lines in ink green, but the main color was actually lighter. The style of the clothes was very ordinary, like something a country girl would wear during spring outings.
Once the girl put on the clothes, Professor Metia immediately noticed that her mana was draining rapidly.
And the ordinary-looking top finally revealed its true nature.
Its body started to glow!
…
This abnormality immediately drew everyone’s attention.
However, until the mana of the girl-type golem was completely drained, the strange change in the clothes only manifested as glowing.
Seeing this, Professor Metia decisively said, “I’ll try wearing it myself!”
She took the clothes that fell after the golem disappeared and took off her coat, then put on the new clothes.
The size of the clothes was small, and when worn, it clung tightly, almost bursting the fabric with her ample chest.
Professor Metia narrowed her eyes, clearly feeling the rapid loss of mana.
But her mana was abundant, and she wasn’t worried about being drained in the short term.
After crazily absorbing for about fifteen minutes, the clothes seemed to reach a critical point.
The faint glow gradually became intense and extended downward, changing.
Soon, the original top had transformed into a thin, long dress!
Once the long dress formed and the glow disappeared, Professor Metia’s mana no longer drained.
Dark abruptly opened the Eye of Truth and discovered that the value of this long dress had undergone a qualitative change.
