Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 64 - 61 Sword Dance Mandala and the Ruthless Nation

Chapter 64: Chapter 61 Sword Dance Mandala and the Ruthless Nation

The Hereditary Method was the first to be ruled out, simply because Lyle did not know how to obtain his own Bone Powder. As for the self-harm, sorry, not even a finger would he relinquish.

"Mr. Scholar, what if I use someone else’s Bone Powder for the Hereditary Method, say, a dragon’s?"

"So, would you be willing to let your own Talent strangle you to death for stepping on an ant? It’s just a hyperbole."

"No need to consider the Hereditary Method anymore, I refuse." Images flooded his mind.

"What is a Spiritual Token?"

"An object imbued with a deity’s essence, their shed exuviae, or remains. Living deities guard all their belongings carefully; the dead ones, perhaps their remnants are a chance for rebirth. If you are powerful enough, of course, seizing their authority is also a possibility, perfectly suited for adventurers from Andrei."

"I refuse. I don’t want to be a god’s backup."

"Then, the Sword Dance Mandala, what strange thing is that?"

"A special herb. When ingested by humans, it greatly accelerates bodily fitness, and with minimal processing, can also act as an optimal supplement for Spellcasters. The issue is, its origins are singular and unique."

"Where is it found?"

"In the Scansor Mountain Range, the border of civilized society, where only two human kingdoms exist, each embroiled in a decade-long conflict against the other."

"Doesn’t the church power intervene?"

"Liveser and the Dreyan Kingdom have been excommunicated. The church has no right to meddle in their dispute."

Medieval kingdoms all have religious affiliations. Sometimes, ecclesiastical and royal powers bind together, with the church mitigating disputes among states so that dissent could be resolved at the discussion table. No entity has the right to declare war without a reason, and violators are excommunicated—a severe consequence. There have even been precedents of kings repenting and being readmitted into the church. Nonetheless, any country that survives ten years of strife after losing the church’s sanction simply doesn’t exist in the real world.

These two nations must be formidable, for losing church membership means facing collective aggression from all other states.

"Those two kingdoms must be very powerful then."

"As countries that possess the Sword Dance Mandala, their citizens are among the most capable fighters of the civilized era."

"Civilized era? Does that mean there’s also a barbaric era?"

"Long-gone epochs were called differently. Discussing it now is pointless. As for the current era, the Sword Dance Mandala, a strategic plant, is tightly controlled by the two countries. The chances of you personally acquiring it, to put it bluntly, are close to zero."

"Mr. Scholar, if you know of a way, please teach me."

"If you can’t do it yourself, you can use leverage. In the City of Wandering, there’s an association similar to the Andrei society called Twilight Memories. There, you should be able to find information about the Sword Dance Mandala."

"But, Mr. Scholar, I don’t know how to get to the City of Wandering?"

"Ah, no rush. Tomorrow night, your Cup of Luxury will tour the City of Wandering together. Mr. Dragon happens to have some important matters to discuss with me there, so, be patient, Plague Doctor."

"By the way, Mr. Scholar, I’ve heard that you also bear the title of Dragon Priest..."

"Yes, nothing worth being curious about, Plague Doctor. It’s merely the residue of history, the past glory that faded away with the dragons. The present world belongs to the Holy Light and to you, the progressives. How is your Magic Wand coming along? Your Talent lies in wand Enchantment’s loophole—how is your wand?"

"All is well. My Magic Wand can release perfectly, and its carvings can even communicate with me. Its name is Medusa."

"Medusa? May I see it?"

"Of course," Lyle said, lightly patting Medusa, which coiled around his neck; he didn’t want to suffocate.

There was no response.

Mr. Scholar’s gaze also noticed the bulge on Lyle’s neck behind the black coat, his eyes were level and stared straight at that area.

A change occurred—Medusa actually began to move, but she slid behind Lyle.

"Mr. Scholar, it seems that Medusa is a bit afraid of you?"

Mr. Scholar’s enchanted mask slightly shifted direction, looking towards Lyle’s beak, "Is that so? Perhaps. How has Alianna been recently?"

"She should be fine, although we haven’t spent much time together, it seems Alianna truly is living happily."

"Hmm, that is a good child. When I was younger, I worked as a private tutor for the Naslan Family for a while, and Alianna was quite a well-behaved child. In comparison, her sisters were way more troublesome."

Seemingly aware that it was impolite to talk about others behind their backs, Mr. Scholar stopped the conversation, even though Lyle was very curious.

"Plague Doctor, after you go back, I suggest you check your Talent Sphere from a professional physician’s viewpoint."

"Hmm?"

"I’ve developed a type of magic that detects germs within the body, diagnosing hidden pathogens. If their number exceeds a threshold, the magic will alert me."

"And I’ve inadvertently discovered that inside your Talent Sphere, there is a large amount of contagion strains. Even though they are common human diseases, to avoid a widespread plague in some areas, please handle it properly."

"Okay, I understand."

After leaving Mr. Scholar’s room and bidding farewell to Ms. Wenli outside, Lyle walked on the road back to the Cup of Luxury.

The Talent Sphere rested on his shoulder, and ever since it grew tentacles, it has been particularly fond of staying on Lyle’s shoulder, bobbing up and down with his movements.

"Who would have thought, looking so cute but actually being a big pathogen."

"It’s all because you ate something strange recently," Medusa slipped back onto the magic wand from the sleeve, stretching her body wantonly through Lyle’s fingers.

"Dare to come out now? Medusa, you even hid when you saw Mr. Scholar."

"Ignorance is truly bliss. I am a magic wand; it’s rare for any wand not to shrink away when seeing that person. That level of mana quantity, it’s a good thing that modern mages are keen to practice obscuring their presence, otherwise you, a little rookie, would have fainted outright in his presence."

"How strong is Mr. Scholar?"

"It’s not about being strong. You know about mana nodes?" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"The intersection points of world magic power, the hubs of magic, the source of spellcasters’ strength."

"Mana nodes have another feature; a spellcaster’s various abilities will improve by about ten percent or so due to the saturation of mana flow."

"By that man’s side, your abilities might increase by about eight percent, he is a humanoid mana node."

"In the eyes of us magic wands, he is the deity that grants us power."