Chapter 339: Chapter 55: Illusory Creatures: The Collector
The mycelial tentacles of the World Mushroom erged from the ground at Richard’s feet, taking the Crystal Ball he offered.
A faint energy fluctuation emanated from the mycelial tentacles, and soon, the dull voice of the World Mushroom rang in Richard’s ears.
“Lord, I feel that these Crystal Balls all contain fragnts of the Secret Realm.”
Richard nodded, “Yes, you’re not mistaken. These things should be useful to you.”
After a brief silence, the World Mushroom spoke with so excitent:
“…Extrely useful. These fragnts can make this Secret Realm much vaster and its energy much more abundant.
Moreover, these fragnts contain many different rules, which can all serve as nourishnt, enriching the rules of this Secret Realm, bringing it closer to a world.”
“That’s good,” Richard smiled, “You should be able to piece it together, right?”
“I can, but while I’m joining the pieces of the Secret Realm, all of your subordinates will need to leave this place.”
Richard agreed, “Fine. I’ll be heading to the Red Sun World in a few days, and then I’ll move the Fire Lizards out.
How much ti will you need?”
“…About twenty years or so.”
“Okay, then I’ll leave it to you.”
Having handed over all the Crystal Balls he had received from the Black Tower Great Wizard to the World Mushroom, Richard made his way to Ulysses’ lair.
At the mont, Ulysses was leisurely basking in the sun, seemingly unaware of Richard’s entry into the Secret Realm.
“What’s the matter, my Main God arrives at the Secret Realm and you don’t co to welco ?” Richard joked.
Ulysses glanced at Richard, turned his head, and closed his eyes again.
“I’ve never seen a Main God who doesn’t care about his own Church.”
“How can you say that?” Richard laughed, “I clearly sent my most capable Subordinate Gods to manage the Church. How can you say I don’t care about the Church?”
Ulysses opened his eyes, looking a bit helpless at Richard.
“My lord of a Main God, do you realize that it’s not uncommon, in our realm, for Subordinate Gods to launch divine wars to kill the Main God and take their place.
Those are Main Gods who pay attention to their Churches.
If they ignored their duties like you, Subordinate Gods wouldn’t even need to wage divine wars. They would simply overturn your position from within the Church.”
Richard laughed, “Isn’t this just showing how much I trust you? Besides, as a novice who has never dealt with Churches, how could I possibly manage one well?
My friend, the capable should take on more work.”
Ulysses’ tone turned serious:
“Every beginning is a start. I heard you’re having Old Mushroom piece together the Secret Realm, and will send all these Fire Lizards back to the Red Sun World.
That’s a good opportunity.
If a Main God can’t even develop his Church, it would be quite embarrassing to speak of it.”
Seeing Ulysses so insistent, Richard no longer evaded the issue and agreed.
“I should say in advance, we Wizards don’t believe in that spirituality, and I don’t know how many so-called ‘Divines’ have been tied to our dissection tables by us.
Your approach, I might learn it very awkwardly, or maybe not at all.”
Hearing this, Ulysses spoke sowhat angrily:
“Don’t compare us to those natives! We are Gods Civilization!”
Ulysses emphasized the word “civilization” particularly strongly.
“We beca Divines not because we wanted to, but because it allows us to collect Power of Faith more effectively.
Becoming a Divine is a ans, developing the Church is also a ans, you can even treat it as a discipline, a skill.
Aren’t you Wizards the best at studying and researching? What’s so hard about this for you?”
Richard was taken aback by his words.
Ulysses’ speech pointed out a problem in his ntality.
He had always seen religion as a kind of trick to fool people, thus despising it psychologically.
But the reality was not so.
Religion, as the cornerstone of the Gods Civilization, must have undergone tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands, of years of practice and developnt by the Gods Civilization.
This was enough to make the developnt of religion a serious discipline.
“I was wrong, my prejudice blinded .”
Richard earnestly apologized to Ulysses, who didn’t hold it against him, just grunting twice before letting the matter drop.
Then Richard told Ulysses about Kayang’s case; he had seen Kayang among the Wizards when receiving a reward, which reminded him of his promise from years ago.
Now that he had learned the Divine Arts to remove Curses, perhaps he could take this opportunity to earn a favor.
“From your description, this kid called Kayang most likely encountered a collector from a pocket dinsion,” Ulysses said uncertainly, “Those elusive creatures with pockets on their backs. They love to travel between various dinsions, collecting all sorts of ‘treasures’ they fancy.
Sotis, they also trade with the lives of the Material World.
It seems that Wizard back then must have cheated the collector in a deal, and they’ve held a grudge against him until now.
However, these creatures are not of bad nature. If you lift the Curse, you might even be able to summon them over. Then, you could possibly gain so treasures from other dinsions.”
Richard was overjoyed at the prospect of an unexpected gain.
“Then let’s go find him right now.”
…
Kayang’s residence was not in the Central Black Tower but in a secluded corner of the test zone.
This was not out of deliberate discrimination by the Academy but at his own request.
As a man favored by the Goddess of Misfortune, he had a profound understanding of his own luck; staying in the Black Tower would only bring trouble to other Wizards.
Of course, there was also the reason that he feared other Wizards would join forces to kill him.
Disturbing Wizards’ experints was not much different from declaring war.
Looking at the stone house in front of him, which was very consistent with chanical structure and used very solid materials,
even Ulysses couldn’t help but admire that Kayang was indeed a tough man.
Misfortune could cause low-probability events to happen but couldn’t make impossible things happen.
As long as you perfect your work, then even misfortune can’t touch you.
Richard walked up and knocked on the door.
Thud! Thud! Thud… Boom!
Richard hadn’t even finished knocking when a loud crash ca from within the stone house.
Imdiately afterward, billowing black smoke began pouring out of the chimney.
A grey-faced wizard clad in a black robe opened the door, with thick smoke billowing out behind him.
He coughed as he asked, “Cough cough cough, who is it?”
“It’s , Richard.”
Richard frowned slightly and, with a wave of his hand, a gentle breeze dispersed the black smoke spewing from the doorway.
Kayang, seeing who it was, looked a bit excited.
“Master Richard! What brings you here to find ? I heard you acquired quite a few treasures from this war, even the head of the Academy has high praise for you.
Shouldn’t you be busy researching at this ti?”
“Do you rember, last ti I promised you that I would…”
Boom!
The roof of Kayang’s stone house suddenly collapsed in part, and then the whole building began to sway precariously.
Richard looked sowhat stunned at the stone house—its materials were undoubtedly solid; how could it so easily beco a dangerous building?
“Your house…”
Kayang cracked a smile: “It’s nothing, I’m used to it. I’ve lived here for three months already.
If sothing didn’t go wrong, I’d start to wonder if so great disaster was waiting for .”
Seeing Kayang so emotionally stable, Richard couldn’t help but feel a mix of admiration and pity.
How much bad luck must one endure to cultivate such a stable disposition?
Richard then continued, “I promised last ti to keep an eye out for any news about the Curse on you.
I’ve co here for that very reason.”
Kayang’s eyes lit up, his voice trembling with excitent, “Master, you’ve found information about that creature!?”
Richard nodded: “I found a creature in the pocket dinsions called the Collector, which resembles the being you described.
Moreover, I’ve found a thod that might lift the Curse from you. Would you like to try it?”
Kayang appeared thunderstruck and stood there in shock.
Soon, his eyelids trembled, and tears stread down his cheeks.
“Try… of course, I want to try! Master, whatever materials you require, I’ll collect them right away!”
Richard shook his head: “No materials needed, just stand still.”
With that, Richard’s deanor suddenly changed, as if a holy radiance emanated from him.
The Power of Faith was drawn by Richard, then underwent a mysterious transformation within his soul.
This change was simple yet intricate, imbued with the essence of the ultimate simplicity of the Dao.
Richard pointed toward Kayang, and that power of faith transford into a Divine Art descending upon him.
Following that, a layer of ethereal black mist erged from within Kayang and dispersed into the air.
Kayang, witnessing this scene, trembled as he struggled to speak.
The misfortunes he’d endured over the years, the pain he’d borne, now all ca surging forth, only to be stuck in his throat.
Finally, all of it turned into a bout of heavy, heart-wrenching sobs.
It was over, at long last, it was over.
Richard watched closely by Kayang’s side, for according to Ulysses, dispelling the Curse might very well lure the one who had cast it.
Before long, the space behind Kayang began to quiver slightly.
A bizarre creature with four arms and six eyes erged from the Void.
“Who has undone my Curse! Who!”
“Ah, it was I who removed it, you have a problem with that?”
The Collector looked up only to see a black crow staring back arrogantly at it. Beneath that arrogant deanor, a terrible pressure sent shivers down the Collector’s spine.
The Collector imdiately thought, “No problem at all, no problem. Great World Master, it is his good fortune that you wished to save him.”
With that, the Collector quickly used its abilities, trying to leave the Wizard World.
“Don’t be in such a hurry to leave, you need to give an explanation for what you did.”
Ulysses moved as swift as lightning to the top of the Collector’s head, freezing it in place.
“This wizard had no quarrels with you, yet you cursed him without cause, making him endure thousands of years of bad luck.
Shouldn’t you leave so explanation?”
The Collector tried to refute, but Kayang had also recovered from his sobbing.
His eyes were red as he glared fiercely at the Collector.
“You alien scum, look clearly, do I look like the Kujin you speak of!”
The Collector turned towards Kayang, all six eyes rotating as if looking for so trace.
Eventually, it said sowhat sheepishly, “Um… would an apology suffice?”
Ulysses looked at him with an unfriendly gaze.
“What do you think?”
…
After enduring a bit of negotiating (coercion), the Collector begrudgingly handed over three treasures it had collected, as compensation for cursing Kayang.
Don’t consider this a small number; these Collectors are like Pixiu, notorious for only taking in and never giving out.
According to Ulysses, these epheral beings don’t die—if killed, they would simply be reborn at so point in the pocket dinsions.
Their abilities also made them incredibly difficult to seal.
Managing to give up three treasures was already the most significant concession the Collector could make, filled with guilt.
Handing over the treasures, the Collector imdiately left through a dinsional rift.
Then, Kayang respectfully perford a Wizard’s Salute to Richard.
“Master Richard, I can never repay the kindness you’ve shown today.
If Master doesn’t mind, I would like to follow you as a disciple, serving you for the rest of my life and beyond.”
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