Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 89 - 85: One Lock, Plague Messenger

The Giant Beast fell with a howl of agony.

"I’m very sorry, my strength is limited; I couldn’t grant you a swift end," Jelly Hunter stood beside the fallen Giant Beast, sinking into contemplation as he observed his former adversary.

"Grael, right?" Echel approached from behind Jelly Hunter, still juggling his throwing knives without pause for quite some time, "A spectacular hunt."

"How did Your Majesty recognize me, when I no longer resemble my former self?"

"The wrist flip you perform when you draw your bow and arrow. Kaeland once issued an order prohibiting this fancy yet pointless motion. There are few among the Liveser Rangers who would dare to openly defy it, aside from the showy archer Grael, but I never thought you’d take it to your grave."

Jelly Hunter’s jawbone moved up and down a few times, as though imitating a smile, and his chilly voice trembled.

"Yes, and I went to the grave because of that foolish move. Teacher Kaeland was always right, yet his correctness was truly annoying," Grael’s soul flame looked towards Echel, "Your Majesty’s eyes are still as sharp as a hawk’s, even though... you have become what you are today."

"Then how did you recognize me? My voice should be different from before," Echel leaned against a massive tree, chatting as if discussing mundane family matters.

"The Supervisor, protector of the hunting ceremony’s safety, if that Necromancer was in danger, Your Majesty would hardly stand by idly. Such protective measures weren’t there when I died, and I don’t believe your son would reinstitute such a policy."

"The hawk’s eyes, the heart of the sky. The king I am loyal to, His Majesty Echel Liveser."

"Now the king of Liveser is Kayla, my granddaughter. You can go to her for the loyalty ritual, I’m just a retired old man."

Grael’s kneeling salute did not cease. "Then I’m merely remnants forsaken by time. In my era, there was only the brilliance led by a king and the darkness after the king’s departure."

Echel stopped playing with the throwing knife in his hand, that blade, made of a hard, deep green metal, gleamed faintly in the light, with a circular bird emblem at the end of the hilt.

"Do you know what this is?"

Grael withdrew his gaze, looking down at the ground, bowing his head.

"Leaf Concealment Blade, the weapon of Night Owl Squad, the Shadow of Liveser, assassins who serve the king."

Echel stood in front of the kneeling Grael, "The outstanding participant of the hunting ceremony will receive the royal family’s commendation, and beyond that, he will have the opportunity to pledge loyalty to the king."

"The Night Owl Squad must not show their true faces. They are a group within Liveser, determined to see their ruthless ways through to the end, and even you, as an undead, would have a place among them."

"You have only one chance, seize it."

Echel threw the Leaf Concealment Blade into the air, the blade spinning as it flew.

The two watched as the Leaf Concealment Blade finally pierced into the ground.

Echel was not surprised by the outcome.

"You refused."

Grael watched the Talent Sphere emerge from his body, taking shape at his feet.

"Showy Archer Grael died during the hunting ceremony. He did not deserve to hold this weapon, and I’m just an Avenger given a second chance."

"Victors possess everything; losers forfeit all."

"Nameless creature, you and your master are the true winners of this hunt. You are entitled to deal with these spoils of war, this prey, this blade, and this corpse bestowed by your mercy."

"Gurgle?"

The sphere bounced a few times, ripples spreading across its crystalline surface.

A watery tentacle reached out, grasped the handle of the Leaf Concealment Blade, and handed it to Grael.

The released tentacle waved goodbye in front of Grael before moving toward the carcass of the Giant Bear.

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"Hahahaha." Echel Liveser clutched his belly, his figure shaking with laughter, "Grael, you don’t want to come, do you? Making excuses, finding reasons? Now with spoils of war, well, your master wants you to join, and your face is swollen from the hit, hahaha."

Grael looked at the former king rolling on the ground with laughter and couldn’t help wanting to stab his Leaf Concealment Blade into the man’s kidney.

"Fine, then as my master wills, I will join the Night Owl Squad. As a Royal Assassin, serving two masters, would you dare to want me!"

"Why wouldn’t I dare! There is no justice in the shadows, no distinction between black and white in the eyes of Night Owls. If you dare to come, I dare to take you."

Grael’s soul flame burned fiercely, "Death Hunter Grael, joining the Night Owl Squad, for the will of the Necromancer and my master."

"The twilight of Liveser, Ranger Lord Echel Liveser welcomes you to join. Oh right, your name will be concealed, so, from now on, your codename is Crow."

"Your will."

The talent orb turned into a gigantic web and, in the interval between their exchanges, began to consume its spoils of war.

......

"Lyle, what’s wrong with you?" Kayla looked at Lyle, suddenly radiating blue light, at a loss for what to do.

Lyle stared in shock at the visibly blue fluid in his hand.

"My Magic Power is increasing."

Almost depleted of Magic Power, controlling three Necromancy Rangers, hunting a Giant Beast, especially Grael’s natural camouflage, nearly drained Lyle dry.

His body, on the brink of drying up, received the blessing of the undead, and in addition, the talent orb outside the cave was rapidly consuming the Giant Beast.

The Magic Power within his body started to surge like a tide, hammering against the physical shackles.

His brain felt as if it were being pricked with needles, his body burning up, the dissipating energy outside his body formed striking flows of Magic Power, starting as a transparent blue light and then turning into a pale grey tinged with the aura of decay, and finally, into the dreaded green color of plague.

Three colors intertwined, forming a chain wrapped around his right hand, guided by the subconscious in his mind.

Magic Power, one lock.

As if celebrating a rebirth, Lyle caused a ripple of Magic Power instinctively, those ripples tinged with a dreadful green turned the soil to an ashen white.

At that moment, Lyle raised his arm high, gazing at the gleaming chain, the feeling of holding Mr. Dragon’s staff for the first time surged back into his mind, and he felt as if he could do anything.

Knowledge of Mysticism flooded his brain, and Lyle gained new abilities.

Plague Messenger.

Lyle could transmit diseases directly into a target’s body using a very small amount of Magic Power, as long as the target had no Magic Power to counteract it.

This method of spread was Mysticism. That is, there’s no need for physical touch, bodily fluid exchange, even air, to transport the plague into the target’s body.

As long as the target was within fifty meters and Lyle had a clear perception of them in his mind, the conditions for mystical transmission were met. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Upon first contact, the disease is latent; two minutes later, symptomatic traits such as fever and dry heaving randomly appear; thirty minutes in, the target’s stamina fails, unable to move normally; after one hour, the body initiates protective measures and falls into a coma. This disease also has a Transcendent Ability, when the virus accumulates to a certain degree, its effects can apply to all intelligent life forms.

Have you ever seen a Ghost sneeze?

From this ability derived the Disease Dosage; Lyle could create a potion carrying the plague that could work beyond the fifty-meter range of Mysticism, but its effect would only manifest as symptoms like nausea and dry heaves.

There was also a healing ability, an unstable treatment. Lyle could create potions to heal physical injuries, but they came with random symptomatic traits.

Imagine the distress of triggering a bleeding state from a drug supposed to stop bleeding.

Thus, Lyle became a true Mystic, the Plague Doctor.

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