"You saved more than just the remainder of their lives."
On the way back, Professor Kris told Lu Li:
"Silver Cross Elephant, Oro Sheloto Ki Papa, Simone Wooda... All of them were once written into the annals of history as extraordinary figures. Now they suffer. They suffer from their lost glory, their possession by anomalies, their fall into the abyss."
Being a Lord of a Cursed Title is not only a curse, but also a blessing.
If Lu Li were to begin studying how to release the power of a Cursed Title, he would co across a mandatory text: "The Blessed Lord of the Cursed Title."
With a dark sense of humor, this book chronicles the fates of every recorded Lord of a Cursed Title: so vanished, so died in agony, so degenerated into anomalies, and so descended into madness, attacking those around them until they were either consud by an anomaly or suppressed by a city's deity.
It serves as a warning to those who have chosen this difficult and blessed, cursed path.
Lu Li had saved Silver Cross Elephant and the others from this affliction. Their looming end had vanished.
Only death can awaken the will to live, only hunger can awaken the desire for food, only darkness can awaken the longing for light.
That was why Kane considered himself a servant, why Silver Cross Elephant acted like an old retainer, and why all the Lords respected this seemingly young peer.
That was why Professor Kris had said that the lost ships, guided by the Beacon, would not let the waves destroy him.
However, before Lu Li could grow into a giant tree, he would have to face so unavoidable minor troubles.
For instance, when Lu Li and Professor Kris parted ways on the Trunk Level and he returned to the middle courses, every student he passed glanced at him sideways, subconsciously drawn to him.
Back in the common room, his teammates' reactions were even more intense. Unlike the other students and Fudot, they felt no need for restraint; they surrounded Lu Li, inhaling greedily as if he were a blossoming flower—
Because of the 31 portions of humanity that Lu Li possessed.
Next, Lu Li had to take on a mission and head to Midnicht for his trials. If he didn't want to cause a commotion, he needed to conceal the aura of his humanity.
"Do you have a way to conceal the aura of humanity?"
Lu Li asked the Trader, Antoni, to contact Professor Kris.
"Darling, do you miss
this much already, so soon after we parted?"
"Unfortunately, no. Give
a day, darling. I'll try to configure a potion, but don't get your hopes up. If it were easy to conceal, we wouldn't have been searching for it for so long."
Thanks to Lu Li, the common room was filled with a wonderful aura, like the tundra.
The Holy Light Squad didn't ask about the reason for the change in his aura, but instead discussed what the scent was.
Nasi said it was the sll of the sun, Yeger believed it was the scent of plants, and Kiruet was closest to the truth: it was the aura of life.
After a day of quiet rest, Lu Li slowly awoke the next morning.
The increase in his humanity had not left Lu Li himself unaffected—for example, the world had beco clearer to him, as if a veil that had shrouded it was lifted.
Rembering sothing, Lu Li lifted his bedding and, just as he expected, discovered a tiny sprout, the size of an ant, in the crack between his pillow and the headboard.
So when Kiruet and the others gradually woke up, they saw a flowerpot filled with loose soil on Lu Li's nightstand.
"If you're going to plant alchemical ingredients, ladybugs can help," Fudot said as a ladybug that resembled her crawled onto her raised fingertip.
"That won't be necessary."
The flowerpot contained only a few ordinary, uncontaminated flower seeds.
Fudot, whose kind offer had been rejected, was dejected until Lu Li left for his level 6 mysticism trials. While the other team mbers gathered by the fireplace, she quietly approached Lu Li's bed, intending to place a ladybug in the flowerpot.
Then she noticed sothing, brought her bright eyes close to the pot, and stared intently at the loose brown soil.
A tiny sprout, even smaller than a ladybug, was pushing its way through the grains of soil.
...
A gatekeeper led a cloaked figure into the Mission Hall.
The students quickly recognized him as Lu Li by the wondrous aura of life, and then, with strange expressions, they looked off into the distance.
The captain of the Viper Squad, Kingard, was here. At Lu Li's appearance, his expression shifted, and he moved aside.
He wasn't looking for trouble, not even after his malicious beating. In fact, his family, his church, and Kingard himself all believed that since Lu Li had handled the matter privately, it was officially concluded. Now, they no longer had to worry about Lu Li's revenge.
After a short wait, the gatekeeper returned, having selected a mission of the "vengeful spirit possession" type.
It was a sha it wasn't a "Spirits and Monsters" type of mission.
[Midnicht — Outer City — Ho Street]
[Matilde Fay's deceased wife returned in the second month after her funeral. Matilde Fay kept this a secret. This was not due to love, but because his dead wife tempted him with rewards. Every morning, she would bring him anywhere from a few to a dozen shillings. She also helped him with his promotions. Matilde Fay, his desires unsated, wanted more; his dead wife brought more money each day, his position grew higher, and she even found him a beautiful and elegant lady. Three mornings ago, Matilde Fay could not find his dead wife, until her voice appeared inside his head. She was now upon him.]
[Mission: Make Matilde Fay's deceased wife cease her possession.]
[Advanced: Completely resolve this mission.]
[Hint: This vengeful spirit only calls itself Matilde Fay's deceased wife.]
[Base Reward: 4 academic credits; 4 team points.]
After leaving the campus, Lu Li avoided the busy streets, but he still couldn't prevent passersby from sensing his aura as they drew near.
Fortunately, the indifferent gatekeeper didn't allow them to get too close.
On Ho Street, Lu Li saw Matilde Fay himself.
"Students? How could you do this! I need the Knightly Order! I need the church! This student from the ivory tower is surely going to kill !" the haggard Matilde Fay scread madly, even grabbing a broom and lunging at Lu Li, trying to drive him away—
This outburst invisibly dissolved as he got closer to Lu Li.
"Who are you?" Sanity returned to Matilde Fay, and he stared, stunned, at the figure in the black cloak.
"Why do I feel..."
Lu Li watched Matilde Fay calmly; he didn't need to take a revealing potion, for he could feel the In-Between aura of the vengeful spirit.
And it, too, sensed Lu Li's aura, urging Matilde Fay to attack Lu Li, to devour his flesh and blood.
Matilde Fay's own mind and life force made him fight against the vengeful spirit's will, until Lu Li used a Catcher's Net to restrain Matilde Fay, along with the vengeful spirit inside his body.
"You idiot, he's co to kill us!" Matilde Fay suddenly let out a piercing shriek and a curse.
"Our souls have already rged. If you kill , he'll die too!"
Lu Li was aware of this phenonon: vengeful spirits would hide in cities by rging with human souls.
The church possessed thods for separating souls and exorcising vengeful spirits.
However, in that case, the level 6 trial, which had to be completed alone, would inevitably be a failure.
But for Lu Li, this was not a matter of choice.
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