Clink!
The small bell above the apothecary door jingled merrily as the door was pushed open. Hearing the sound, Nfirea, who was concocting potions in the back workshop, hurried to the reception area at the front. When he saw that the person who had come was Kael, he was stunned for a moment, his eyes widening in surprise.
Although his reunion with Enri some time ago had felt brief, Nfirea had later helped the residents of Carne Village settle in the city of E-Rantel and had heard some news about Kael from them. My God... In his mind, Nfirea admitted that it was no exaggeration to say that someone capable of such extraordinary things as Kael might be a god. However, doubt gripped his heart, Could I ever be like Enri?
With a sense of trepidation mixed with admiration, Nfirea approached Kael and bowed respectfully, "Hello, Lord Kael!"
Kael smiled faintly and said in a friendly tone, "You are not my follower either, Nfirea. It's alright if you are a little more relaxed in front of me."
"Uh... yes!" Nfirea replied a little awkwardly, raising his head and looking at the person standing before him with a confused expression.
Perhaps noticing Nfirea's bewildered gaze, Kael offered a wider smile, one that felt warm and friendly like the morning sun. "...What brings you here, Lord Kael?" Nfirea asked, trying to control his surprise.
The cooperation that had been established between the two parties regarding the production of potions and magic scrolls had been fully entrusted to Granny Lizzie and Master Nord from Carne Village. So, the sudden visit of this extraordinary adult must not be due to that matter, but rather for another, more important purpose.
Nfirea's guess was spot on. Regarding the matter of the Carne Village residents who had taken root in E-Rantel, Kael had only completed the initial assignment work and had no plans to take care of the details any further. After all, with a stable production line of magic scrolls and potions, the Carne Village residents no longer needed to struggle to make a living like other civilians who had just entered the city. Their survival difficulties had been reduced to the lowest possible level. If after all this help they still couldn't succeed, then Kael would need to consider replacing them with a more capable and reliable group of followers.
Without further ado, Kael directly stated the true purpose of his visit. "Nfirea, you possess a very rare innate ability to use all kinds of magic items without restriction. I have come here this time to try and copy this unique ability to another person. Are you willing to help?"
"Born with a special ability...?" Nfirea was shocked to hear Kael's words. He had never expected that his natural ability, which he had always considered ordinary, could attract the attention of a god like Kael. He recalled that even in Carne Village, Kael had conducted experiments on Negan, who also possessed a natural superpower.
Unbeknownst to Nfirea, Kael was thinking about the powerful super-tier magic in the game Yggdrasil that did not belong to the framework of ordinary tiered magic. Players had to reach level 70 or higher to learn it, and it was classified as a very rare special skill. Among the various super-tier magic, there was a magic called [Make a Wish upon a Star]. Its effect in the game was that by consuming a large amount of experience points, ten wishes would be randomly drawn from 200 options available in the official setting library, and the player would then have to choose one of these ten wishes to be realized. After traveling to another world, the effect of [Wish upon a Star] no longer required random selection but could directly realize the user's wish. Although its power was not absolute like "I want to destroy the world and it will happen," the effect of this super-tier magic was very powerful, and the range of wishes that could be realized could be expanded by increasing the amount of experience points consumed.
Although innate supernatural powers were unique skills possessed only by the natives of the other world, Kael knew that as long as the super-tier magic [Wish upon a Star] was used correctly, it could be copied to himself. He had confirmed this on Negan and successfully obtained Negan's innate ability to enhance the attributes of his summoned creatures. Therefore, he was now trying to copy Nfirea's innate ability of 'unrestricted use of magic items' to enrich his own abilities.
To dispel Nfirea's obvious concerns, Kael added a sentence as an assurance to him, "Don't worry, Nfirea. I will only conduct some tests. This will definitely not have any adverse effects on your body."
"...I see," Nfirea replied in a slightly hesitant tone. After thinking for a moment, he finally agreed to Kael's request. To be honest, even if he didn't agree, he had no power to refuse at all and would most likely still be forcibly abducted by Kael. It was already very polite of Kael to ask for his opinion first, and Nfirea was not the type of person to be ungrateful or unaware of others' kindness.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Nfirea. In that case, let's set off," Kael said with a small smile, preparing to use teleportation magic to take Nfirea out of the city of E-Rantel.
However, at that moment, Nfirea suddenly stopped him in a hesitant tone, "Wait a moment, Lord Kael!"
"Hm? Is there anything else you want to say?" Kael asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Um... Lord Kael, I want to ask you one thing, which is... can you also make Enri like me?" Nfirea asked hesitantly, his face flushing slightly with embarrassment.
With just a glance, Kael could roughly guess what was going on in the boy's mind. His expression was very easy to read, and Kael happened to know exactly what type of person Nfirea was. Although it had only been a short time, Enri had suddenly transformed from an ordinary, unknown village girl into a fairly well-known magic caster throughout E-Rantel. This drastic change in identity and power made Nfirea, who secretly harbored feelings for her, feel nervous and uncertain about his position.
"Haha, young man," Kael said with a mysterious smile, "before I answer your request, I want to ask you first. Are you willing to become my loyal follower and fight for me to the death without the slightest hesitation?"
Nfirea's expression clearly froze for a moment at the sudden question. He opened his mouth, intending to declare his willingness to serve Kael, but Kael gently cut him off.
"You hesitated," Kael said, shaking his head slightly. "There's no need to deny it, Nfirea. Even if you desperately desire to obtain power as great as Enri's, I am still too unfamiliar to you. You are different from Enri and the others in Carne Village. They have received my immeasurable kindness and are willing to repay it with their lives unconditionally. Even if I don't give them additional power, they will still do their best to serve me. That is why I am willing to bestow my grace upon them. Your current shallow resolve is not yet strong enough to earn the favor of a god."
"Work hard, Nfirea. Show me your true loyalty and determination. When you are determined enough and prove yourself, bring this request to me again. I will consider it." Gently patting Nfirea's shoulder, Kael activated teleportation magic, and the two of them disappeared in an instant, reappearing in a deserted suburb of E-Rantel.
Then, Kael didn't hesitate any longer. After telling Nfirea not to resist, he directly used the effect of the [Meteor Ring] circling his finger. The [Meteor Ring] was an extremely rare and valuable krypton gold lottery item, which allowed the user to activate the super-tier magic [Wish upon the Stars] three times without requiring preparation time or consuming experience points. Even if someone wasn't a magic caster, they could still use the power of this item.
Copying Nfirea's natural ability... seems impossible with the power of a basic [Wish Upon a Star]... I have to spend extra experience points to increase the wish-granting power... maybe this will work! Kael thought with determination.
About two hours later, after a tiring process that almost drained all his energy, Kael collected the precious [Meteor Ring] back into his item box. He had successfully copied Nfirea's natural ability to himself. But this process had truly made him break out in a cold sweat. The [Wish Upon a Star] activated by the [Meteor Ring] was a basic level with the weakest wish-granting power. Perhaps because Nfirea's innate ability was much stronger than Negan's, the basic level [Wish Upon a Star] couldn't fulfill this copying request. Therefore, Kael had been forced to increase the power of the magic effect by consuming a large amount of his own experience points. This directly depleted all the excess experience points he had accumulated after reaching level 100 and almost made him drop back to level 99. Although the unrestricted use of magic items was indeed powerful and useful, Kael would most likely have given up if he had to significantly lower his level just to obtain it. Because this special skill was just a bonus for him, not something he absolutely had to have. He had to remember that Nfirea wasn't his follower yet, and there might not be enough suitable "wild monsters" in the other world for Kael to enhance their abilities. Once his level dropped too far, he most likely wouldn't be able to raise it back up easily.
"Thank you very much for your cooperation, Nfirea," Kael said with a smile, patting the boy's shoulder kindly. As a thank-you gift, he gave Nfirea a useful legendary item, then prepared to send him back to the city of E-Rantel with teleportation magic.
However, at that moment, he suddenly received an urgent magical communication.
"Master, the target has appeared," the voice of the Great Sage of the Undead echoed clearly in his mind.
Whoa!
Kael's eyes suddenly gleamed with a dangerous intensity. The person who sent the message was none other than the loyal Great Sage of the Undead. The target he spoke of was naturally... the insidious Scriptures of Darkness!
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