Chapter 75

"Power of Fate!"

As the ancient Hermes language was spoken, Lumian instantly felt the light inside the altar dim significantly. The orange-yellow candle flames flickered violently in the invisible wind, compressed to the size of a peppercorn.

At the same time, his chest began to feel warm, his head a bit dizzy, and a buzzing sound echoed in his ears, as if he were about to hear that terrifying voice from the infinite distance yet close by.

Lumian steadied himself and suddenly thought of something:

The pollution in his body was sealed by the owner of the blue-black symbol. Even if he delved into deep meditation and faced the ritual dance, he could only make the thorn symbol stand out, releasing a bit of aura, but could not mobilize the corresponding power.

Could this ritual bypass the seal and draw upon the "blessing"?

Unless, the owner of the blue-black symbol, that great being, had already given tacit approval!

Thinking of the mysterious lady's determined attitude, Lumian felt a bit more confident, even suspecting that this ritual itself included a part that sought the great being's permission.

As for which part, his knowledge of mysticism was insufficient to guess.

In the midst of the ritual, Lumian dared not delay. After a few quick thoughts, he began to recite the subsequent incantations in ancient Hermes:

"You are the past, the present, and the future;

You are the cause, the effect, and the process."

Each word reverberated within the enclosed altar. The floor and objects began to visibly wriggle, as if countless strange things were about to emerge, entering this dream ruin.

Whoo!

Black wind appeared out of nowhere, swirling around Lumian. The candle flame, compressed to the size of a peppercorn, suddenly expanded, taking on a silver-black hue.

Lumian once again heard that voice that always brought him to the brink of death and loss of control, but an indistinct gray mist had appeared in the altar, gathering around him.

This made his experience a mix of deep meditation and seeing the "noodle man" dance, not quite on the brink of death but not comfortable either, like severe tinnitus, dizziness, nausea, and irritability, with his mind in considerable confusion.

Struggling to control himself, Lumian continued the ritual:

"I beseech you,

I beseech you to grant me your blessing,

I beseech you to grant me the power of the 'Dancer.'

Tulip, the herb of fate, please pass your power to my incantation!

Gray amber, the herb of fate, please pass your power to my incantation!"

As the ritual progressed, Lumian's tinnitus and dizziness worsened, and it felt as if countless worms were wriggling under his skin.

Finally, he finished the incantation.

Almost simultaneously, the silver-black candle flame instantly condensed into a beam of light, shining on his left chest.

Silver-black liquid immediately flowed out, quickly enveloping Lumian, making him look both sinister and terrifying.

He felt as if every inch of his skin was being pierced by needles, his muscles and tendons completely torn apart. The mysterious voice became extremely clear, as if directly echoing in his mind.

Lumian was instantly overwhelmed by intense pain, his consciousness nearly blurring.

All his blood vessels became scorching hot, as if burning from the inside out.

This situation was more severe than the near-death state he experienced during deep meditation.

He could only grit his teeth and persist, striving to control his chaotic mind and prevent himself from losing his sanity. As for the rest, he could no longer afford to worry about it.

In the midst of the storm-like assault, he became dazed, unaware of how much time had passed.

Finally, the terrible pain disappeared. Lumian felt as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted, or as if he had emerged from underwater, suddenly feeling light.

He quickly regained his thoughts and looked ahead.

The candle flame had returned to its original state, but it still had a silver-black hue.

As soon as Lumian regained his clarity, he took two steps forward and extinguished the candle representing himself to avoid any accidents.

Next, he extinguished the candle representing the deity.

Following the procedure, he ended the ritual and dismantled the spiritual wall. He felt mentally exhausted and physically sore, as if he had just fought a monster.

Not long after, the dining table was cleared, and Lumian began to examine his condition, discovering that his mind had gained a lot of new knowledge.

This knowledge mainly consisted of three parts:

One part was how to use dance movements, rhythm, and the combination of one's spirituality to mobilize the surrounding natural forces and pray to unspecified entities. This is the core knowledge of the 'Dancer.' With this, Lumian could not only pray to fate but also design new ritual dances based on different situations and outcomes to "please" other entities.

The second and third parts were practical examples of the first part.

The former was what Lumian most wanted to obtain, the mysterious dance performed by the "noodle man." This was directly infused into his mind, allowing him to learn it on the spot, though not yet proficiently.

With this mysterious ritual dance, Lumian could activate the black thorn symbol on his chest while exploring the dream ruins, suppressing or weakening the powerful monster there.

The third part was another eerie dance, more like a combination of a ritual and a summoning.

Using it, Lumian could attract certain things from the surroundings and, at the cost of blood, have one of them attach to himself, thereby utilizing its abilities or traits.

Of course, the prerequisite was that Lumian must be able to withstand such possession. Some entities, when attached to a human, would bring significant negative effects, and some might even refuse to leave, causing major trouble.

Therefore, Lumian felt that he should not attempt summoning until he had sufficient knowledge of the summoned entities and understood the potential issues, as it was too dangerous.

The importance of mystical knowledge was evident at this moment. Lumian urgently needed things like the "Mystical Creatures Compendium" and the "Spiritual Realm Creatures Compendium," but unfortunately, even the knowledge of a "Wizard," known for its comprehensiveness, could not cover so much.

Next, Lumian moved his body and found that his flexibility had indeed improved significantly.

Although he could not reach the level of the "noodle man," a mutated monster with reorganized organs, he surpassed almost all normal humans and could perform the mysterious ritual dance.

Snap! Lumian kicked his leg backward, easily touching the back of his head.

He nodded in satisfaction and muttered to himself:

"Good, many movements that were impossible before can now be done, and the 'Hunter's' combat skills have improved significantly."

Lumian tried to perform the mysterious dance to adapt to his current body and become more proficient, hoping to shorten the time it took to complete a segment.

At times, his movements were powerful and forceful, as if in battle, and at other times, gentle and slow, as if expressing something, but always rhythmic.

As he danced, his spirituality began to spread outward, combining with the surrounding natural forces.

Gradually, his thoughts became focused, his mind calm, entering a certain ethereal and wondrous state.

This allowed him to sense the subtle things around him, as if opening his spiritual vision.

At the same time, he seemed to connect with the intangible power within his body.

His chest warmed again, and the terrifying voice faintly echoed, but not clearly enough.

Sigh... Lumian stopped the dance, unbuttoned his clothes, and looked at his chest.

The black thorn symbol indeed reappeared, and the blue-black symbol also became slightly more prominent.

Lumian's mind instantly became a bit confused, but not severely, perfectly achieving the effect he wanted.

Next, he began to calculate the specific time from the appearance to the disappearance of the black thorn symbol.

It was about a minute.

After buttoning his clothes, Lumian tried the other eerie dance.

This dance was sometimes frenzied, like a madman performing, and sometimes twisted, indescribable in words.

As he danced, his spirituality once again spread out, combining with the surrounding natural forces, spreading to a farther distance.

In the last third of the dance, he suddenly sensed some strange entities approaching.

Three figures appeared on the glass of the first-floor window.

They were a skinless monster, a shotgun monster, and a mouth monster with a black mark, but their figures were very blurry and almost transparent, clearly only remnants of spirituality and will.

"Is this a victims' complaint conference?" Lumian chuckled to himself upon realizing what had been summoned.

At this moment, he could take out the ritual silver dagger during the dance, cut himself, and release a bit of blood to allow one of the three figures to attach to himself, thereby borrowing their abilities or traits.

Although Lumian was very tempted by the mouth monster's "invisibility," he did not know what problems would arise if the monster he had killed attached to him, so he forced himself to resist the urge and completed the eerie dance.

As he performed the last few movements, he mysteriously heard faint, small voices.

It was as if many people were communicating in a place, heard through a wall, indistinct and unclear.

As Lumian carefully listened, he realized that these voices seemed to come from within his body, from the sealed pollution!

The last movement ended, and Lumian stood there, puzzled:

"What did I hear?"

He was now a semi-illiterate in the field of mysticism, unable to determine the source, so he chose to give up, as this was not more terrifying than the pollution itself.

When the faint voices finally subsided, Lumian, having practiced the two mysterious dances, confirmed that the "Dancer" had also enhanced his spirituality.

Although he was still not as strong as the renowned Sequence 9, he had broken free from the "Hunter's" constraints.

He felt he was now at an upper-middle level.

"The weakness has been compensated for." Lumian was very pleased with this.

He did not think about the gradual physical changes that would occur after accepting the "Dancer's" power and the corresponding pollution, as it was inevitable and better not to think about it.

Rubbing his tired head, Lumian decided to rest tonight and return to the real world to watch the owl!

PS: Vote for the monthly ticket!