Chapter 7

Breathing in the pale pink blood mist around him, Lucien felt his limbs go limp and his head throb with pain. The scene of Correa and Hausen fighting in his eyes kept changing, sometimes turning into Correa and a giant rat, and then back to the two of them brutally fighting each other, as if hallucinations and reality were overlapping.

"Wait, hallucinations?!" As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Lucien had a rough idea of what was happening. He focused his attention, allowing the sensation of his mind spreading like a tide to take over. The scene stopped changing, the red mist no longer distorted, and everything stabilized. Indeed, it was Correa and Hausen fighting to the death, with multiple wounds bleeding from their bodies, their movements slow and laborious, as if they had reached their limits.

"Is it the blood of the red-eyed rats that causes hallucinations, or does the blood need to be absorbed and transformed by that strange plant to induce hallucinations? What a clever magical trap."

Lucien finally understood that Hausen's disappearance and Gary's sudden attack were both due to the influence of hallucinations, which likely began when the first red-eyed rat was killed. By the time the senses were completely clouded, it was already difficult to distinguish reality. Only Lucien, protected by the Shield of Holy Light and with improved mental fortitude, managed to break free from the hallucinations.

The "Holy Light Strike" emitted from the Emblem of Truth not only vaporized Gary's right hand and part of his shoulder but also pierced through to the stone ceiling above the secret room, creating a deep hole. Debris rained down, as if the entire room might collapse at any moment.

The dust and debris dispersed the pale pink blood mist, allowing Lucien to regain some strength in his limbs.

Lucien was unsure if there were any other linked magical traps, so even though he was temporarily safe, he did not dare to relax. He quickly thought of a plan.

The "Emblem of Truth" could no longer activate any divine spells beyond the two Light spells. Lucien had lost his greatest reliance, and even his physical strength was weakened by the paralyzing effect of the pale pink mist.

Suddenly, Lucien saw the strange plant swaying under the falling debris.

"Does it have no other abilities to protect itself besides creating hallucinations?" Lucien immediately realized this and, despite his weak and limp limbs, managed to stand up and walk towards the strange plant.

His legs were weak, and he stumbled, walking very slowly. He fell several times amidst the debris, getting cuts and bruises all over his body, and even some wounds bled profusely.

"Hisss." Lucien took a deep breath, enduring the pain, and with the temporary clarity and strength brought by the pain, he struggled to reach the strange plant.

After this series of events, Lucien's naivety and confusion had diminished. Without hesitation, he held his breath, carefully but firmly extended his right hand, and grasped the main stem of the strange plant.

He felt the veins pulsating under his hand, the blood flowing like a stream, and it felt as if he was holding a living being. He then yanked it to the side.

"Ah!"

The strange plant's branches and leaves contracted, emitting a sharp, piercing scream, as if it were dying.

It didn't break on the first pull, so Lucien continued to exert force. The plant, while screaming, extended its branches and leaves, trying to wrap around Lucien.

A wet, slippery, and disgusting sensation spread over his skin, and countless tiny spines pierced into his body. Lucien forced himself to endure the fear and terror, and pulled again.

"Ugh..."

The crying sound abruptly stopped. Lucien was sprayed with the pale pink liquid from inside the plant, the smell of blood overwhelming, making his limbs even more limp. He could only lean against the stone wall to avoid falling.

As the plant was torn in two, the pale pink mist in the air became even more concentrated, almost like a liquid.

The three books on the nearby desk, which were glowing faintly, quickly corroded from the first page to the last, disappearing completely in just a few seconds. Lucien, who was nearby, didn't even have time to see the content written on them.

Of course, with his current paralyzed state, he couldn't have stopped it even if he wanted to, and it would have been difficult to take even a single step.

The desk immediately became empty, but strangely, only the area where the three books were placed showed signs of corrosion. Lucien quickly understood the key point: "It seems to be another magical trap. When the concentration of the red mist reaches a certain level, the magical traps in those magic notes activate, destroying themselves to prevent them from falling into enemy hands."

"Pity those magic notes," Lucien lamented in his heart. They were notes that could teach extraordinary powers!

Suddenly, Lucien was startled. He noticed that the library in his soul was emitting a strange glow.

Curious, Lucien probed with his mind and saw a new bookshelf appear in the library, labeled "Magic (Arcane)," and on the shelf were three books, the same ones he had just seen.

"Could this library have the ability to collect books? But how does it get the content?" Lucien was very surprised. "Or does it need me to see the content firsthand? Yes, the three books were corroded quickly, but if the process were slowed down, they would have been corroded page by page. Perhaps this strange library can record the content from start to finish, creating a projection of the books, rather than inventing the content out of thin air."

Lucien could only speculate for now and would need to conduct more experiments with other books to confirm.

Looking at the three magic notes, Lucien, who had been quite regretful, now hesitated: "Learning magic, in a world where divine spells are powerful and can publicly execute mages, might be too dangerous."

Unable to make a decision, Lucien put it aside for the moment. After all, he and the others were still in the secret room and had not completely escaped danger. So, Lucien began to gather his strength.

Without the strange plant, the pale red blood mist gradually dissipated, and Correa and Hausen gradually broke free from the hallucinations, looking at each other in shock. However, it was too late; both were on the brink of death.

...

On the ground, Benjamin grunted as Lucien used his mental power to activate the "Emblem of Truth" and trigger the "Holy Light Strike." He lowered his right hand and looked at the secret passage with suspicion.

"Sir Benjamin?" The guard Paul, seeing Benjamin's strange behavior, hurriedly asked.

Under the silver moonlight, Benjamin's face turned very pale. He whispered, "There's been a change below. My mental imprint in the emblem was triggered. Damn it, just a magic apprentice, and he managed to do this much. Truly useless! Paul, wait here for me. If I'm not out in five minutes, seek help from the bishop."

It was because of the mental imprint in the emblem that Benjamin felt confident enough to let Lucien use the Emblem of Truth. Otherwise, even though the emblem, a standard divine artifact, was much weaker compared to Benjamin's own abilities and other divine artifacts he possessed, he wouldn't have casually given it to anyone. He didn't expect his mental imprint to be triggered, failing to prevent the unintended activation of the divine spell at a critical moment.

Negligence and carelessness are often the companions of arrogance and prejudice.

In Benjamin's mind, he had a deep prejudice against knights, who relied on their bloodline and physical strength, considering them crude and lowly, far inferior to the noble and world-exploring spellcasters, even if they were evil mages. Therefore, he subconsciously gave the Emblem of Truth to Lucien, whose mental power was above average.

This attitude stemmed from Benjamin's background and experiences.

As a member of the Raphaite family, one of the most powerful families in the Vaulorite Principality, they relied on their bloodline "divine grace" but were different from knights. They used their bloodline power to cast spells, making them true spellcasters. Benjamin, as a member of the Raphaite family, even with a weak bloodline that couldn't activate his own powers, stood out after entering the monastery as a child, smoothly becoming a priest and firmly walking the path of a spellcaster.

Now, as a formal priest, such a minor incident had a significant impact on his status within the church, so Benjamin hurriedly went down.

Paul was equally surprised: "With the Emblem of Truth, there could still be a change? Could there be another formal mage?"

...

Lucien, having regained some strength, was about to lean against the stone wall and leave the secret room when he suddenly heard footsteps. His heart raced, and he tensed up. If it was a residual magical creature from the witch or her friend, he might not be able to escape.

When he saw Benjamin's white, holy robe, Lucien was somewhat relieved but still didn't dare to relax. A secret room was an excellent place for a cover-up.

"Raplan Blood Vine?" Benjamin glanced at the situation in the secret room and quickly deduced the general process from his knowledge of magic and plants. He understood why Lucien, who was slowly moving along the wall, and Gary, who was on the ground and near death, had ended up like this. "Fortunately, they are not dead."

"This boy has had some luck. His mental power has increased, reaching the level of a low-ranking novice priest. It seems the impact of his breakthrough triggered my mental imprint. Unfortunately, it's not the era of 300 years ago when the church was overwhelmingly powerful, and one could learn divine spells based on talent alone. Without a solid foundation and systematic learning of divine spells from a young age, he will never become a formal priest. It must be said that the 'Arcane Emperor' indeed initiated the golden age of rapid development in divine spells and magic over the past 400 years."

As a member of the Raphaite family, Benjamin knew more about the world's situation than most priests and seemed less devout in his faith. To be precise, as a noble and a member of the church, Benjamin had conflicting interests.

More importantly, after the "Supreme Theological Conference" 300 years ago, the church split into two factions, each accusing the other of heresy. Despite this, the acquisition of divine spells was not affected, leading many bishops and cardinals to secretly doubt the existence of a deity, wondering if it was a test for believers.

This attitude directly influenced every young person who became a priest over the past few centuries, including Benjamin.

Moreover, to adapt to the rapidly developing era, several popes introduced knowledge from the world explored by Grand Arcanists to reform the theological foundation. Although this led to rapid development in divine spells and the emergence of many powerful figures, maintaining the Southern Church's dominant position amidst numerous powerful enemies, it also created more cracks in the already unstable internal faith.

Benjamin relaxed, and white powder slipped from his hand. He uttered strange syllables, and a strong wind blew away the pale red blood mist.

Without incantations or casting materials, he simply pointed at Gary, and a pale white light fell on him, causing the blackened parts of his body to fall off, his wounds to heal, and he was no longer on the brink of death but severely injured.

Benjamin cast healing divine spells at intervals of one to two seconds, reviving Correa and Hausen and healing Lucien's injuries.

After hearing the accounts from Lucien, Correa, Hausen, and Gary, Benjamin looked at the desk, confirming they were not lying, and instructed, "Move all the items in the secret room to the church, including the bodies of the rats."

At the same time, he took back the emblem from Lucien: "Your sins have been washed away. Go back and rest. May the Lord bless you."

Originally, if Lucien had succeeded, Benjamin would not have been stingy with monetary rewards and might have even tried to cultivate him in secret. However, given the dangerous situation, Benjamin no longer had the mood to encourage Lucien. After ensuring he had nothing hidden, he quickly dismissed him. After all, Correa and Hausen were fine, but Gary, without his right hand, was a more complicated matter, as regenerating a limb was not a spell he could perform.

Seeing that Benjamin had no intention of a cover-up, Lucien had no desire to stay and hurriedly left the secret room. As he reached the sewer, Lucien, whose mental power had broken through a certain boundary, suddenly heard Correa's words, which made him feel a bit heavy-hearted. He whispered to Hausen, "Gary, without his right hand, probably can't become a knight and will be dismissed from the guard."

Lucien, unsure of his own feelings, left the secret passage and was immediately greeted by the inquiries of the surrounding poor.

"Little Evans, did you purify the ghost?" Aunt Elisa asked from a distance.

Lucien nodded: "They have been purified by Sir Benjamin and the guards."

Everyone relaxed and began to ask and discuss enthusiastically: "Lucien, what did the ghost look like? Was it scary?"

"Sir Benjamin is indeed a formal priest."

"Lucien seems to have received the Lord's protection, being able to use the Emblem of Truth."

"Unfortunately, Lucien is no longer a child and can't be sent to the monastery for training. Otherwise, it would be a great honor for our Adelang district to have a Sir Lucien."

Hearing these comments, Lucien felt a bit dazed: "I can't become a priest?"

Although, as a穿越者 (穿越者 means "穿越者" in Chinese, which can be translated as "time traveler" or "穿越者" in English, but in this context, it refers to someone from a different world or time), Lucien had never considered becoming a priest, but after experiencing the extraordinary power of divine spells, being told he couldn't pursue this path left him somewhat disheartened.

"Poor little Evans, you must be exhausted. Go back and rest," Aunt Elisa said, seeing Lucien's poor condition.

Lucien had many things on his mind and needed to be alone, so he nodded and returned to his small room. He sat by the bed, listening to Benjamin and the others leave, the surrounding poor disperse, and the night return to its peaceful silence, suppressing his deep longing for his parents.

"I can't become a priest, and it seems I have little hope of becoming a knight and activating my bloodline powers due to lack of early training."

"To gain extraordinary powers, I probably have to learn magic."

"But choosing magic means being an enemy of the church and most ordinary people, including Aunt Elisa and the others."

"Perhaps there are other paths?"

"Anyway, the magic notes are in my mind. I'll take a look first. Yes, that should be fine."

After much hesitation and struggle, Lucien decided to look at the magic notes. He entered the library with his mind and opened the magic notes.

After a long time, a low, exasperated voice echoed in the room:

"What do I do if I can't read?"