Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 292 Extraordinary Characteristics Don't Disappear, They Just Transfer

Inside the restaurant of the Golden Dream.

"Vampires are truly mysterious..."

As Shatas recounted the story, Klein couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Among the eight extraordinary races of the Second Era, the vampires were the first to regain their sanity.

It's even possible that vampires have never gone 'mad'. Perhaps it's the unique nature of their pathways that makes them less prone to losing control than those of other pathways, or perhaps vampires possess some special item that can ensure that newly born vampires are not devoured by tyranny and madness.

But no matter the reason, the result is the same.

That is, among the original eight extraordinary races, the vampires were the strongest!

Shatas made no attempt to evade the issue, stating directly that the progenitor of the vampires was more powerful than the other ancient gods, a fact even the Elf King Sunia Solem had acknowledged.

The fact that even when betrayed, the progenitor of the vampires could take two other ancient gods down with him is the best proof of this.

To be able to fight two opponents and still kill both of them requires absolute strength.

The same reason.

After the 'fall' of the progenitor of the vampires, the vampires were fragmented and lost their status as equals with extraordinary races such as giants and dragons, and could only become vassals of the elves.

However, it's not accurate to say that the vampires are merely clinging to life, as their relationship with the elves is quite harmonious. The Elf King Sunia Solem even once attempted to help the "Goddess of Beauty" Ornia advance to Sequence 0.

When the ancient sun god 'awakened' and began to reclaim power from the ancient gods, the remaining five ancient gods were killed one by one. The Elf King Suniasolem was also unable to escape his clutches, and the Elf race lost their homeland.

But the vampire goddess Olnia is still alive, and the vampire clan remains powerful.

They even allied with the Ternsost Empire to support the Night Emperor's ascension to godhood.

It's important to know that at that time, the Night Emperor had the support of the Six Gods. Moreover, the royal families of the four great kingdoms of the Northern Continent today were all angelic families of the Ternsost Empire.

In this context, the fact that the vampires were able to break through the encirclement and become the most important supporters of the Ternsost Empire speaks volumes about their strength and status.

Of course, in the historical accounts, the vampires gained their high status by marrying the Blood Moon Queen, formerly known as the "Goddess of Beauty" Olnia, to the Night Emperor. However, in the vampire history, even the Night Emperor was supported by the vampires!

Before the Night Emperor ascended to godhood, the Blood Moon Queen's strength was even greater than that of Trelonost. This indicates that the Blood Moon Queen at that time possessed at least two Sequence 1 extraordinary characteristics, perhaps even unique ones. This level of strength was comparable to that of the 'Angel King,' far surpassing that of ordinary angels!

It's no exaggeration to say that the Blood Moon Queen had a better chance of ascending to Sequence 0 than the Night Emperor. Unfortunately, the Night Emperor had the support of the six gods, and his ascension was even faster than the Blood Moon Queen's.

Given this premise, the Blood Moon Queen has no need to elevate the status of the vampire clan through marriage alliances.

An angel king who can become a god at any time is, in some ways, already comparable to a god.

For example, the Abraham family during the Solomon Empire, according to Mobert. At that time, the entire Solomon Empire worshipped the Black Emperor Solomon, except for the Abraham family, who worshipped their ancestor Bethel Abraham. Even the Black Emperor tolerated this almost heretical behavior because Abraham was the most likely person to become a god!

Even if the Black Emperor Solomon is a true god, you can't push him too far.

By the same token, the few instances of so-called "marriage down" recorded in historical documents are more like human embellishment of history, a vanity to prove one's own superiority.

While the explanation based on the 'moon' is somewhat biased, it is generally credible.

Compared to those fragmented historical documents, the complete history of the vampires is clearly more credible.

And this continued until the Fifth Age, which lasted for thousands of years.

The eight extraordinary races are nearly extinct. Whether they are giants, dragons, elves, or demons, they have long existed only in various documents and records. No one has ever actually seen what they look like.

Only the vampires continue to thrive, hiding among humans and living a privileged life.

While their similar body size to humans does offer an advantage, it's certainly not the only reason—

The people of the Fusak Empire have always considered themselves descendants of giants, and they have no aversion to giants. Giants can also live and thrive in the Fusak Empire.

But the truth is, there is no trace of any giants even within the Sak Empire.

In contrast, the vampire clan has not only continued to this day, but has even maintained its formidable strength.

Although there is no true god, there are four angels, one of whom can even be compared to the king of angels!

Moreover, this is only their apparent strength; who knows if the vampires have any true gods behind the scenes?

Perhaps one of the evil gods, or even the righteous gods, is actually an alternate identity of the progenitor of the vampires!

"What is that?"

Just then, a bright silver color flashed before Klein's eyes.

He subconsciously looked in the direction of the light and discovered that Ember had appeared in the restaurant at some point, standing next to Grosser who was sitting on the ground, and in his hand he was holding a ball of silvery light that looked like a heart or a miniature sun.

Klein asked in surprise:

"Is this an extraordinary characteristic of the 'Witcher'?"

He had heard the name of the Giant Path Sequence 4 potion from Derrick the Sun.

"To be precise, this is an extraordinary characteristic of Sequence 3 'Silver Knight'," Ember said calmly.

"..."

Klein's expression was somewhat subtle. Silver City possessed the Giant Path, but its highest level was only Sequence 4, "Witcher." Therefore, he didn't know what Sequence 3 of the Giant Path was called, but since Ember had said so, he naturally wouldn't doubt it.

However, the Church of the God of War is in a rather dire situation.

Because Ember wanted to obtain a Sequence 4 Extraordinary trait, the Church of War ended up getting involved with a Sequence 3 Archbishop...

Ember handed the ball of silvery light to Grosser and said:

"The Archbishop of the Church of War is not in the church, so it took a little time, but it doesn't seem too slow."

"slow?"

Mobert's eye twitched. "In less than an afternoon, you traveled from the Roside Islands to Sonia Island and even killed a high bishop of the Church of War. You call that slow?"

Shatass asked hesitantly:

"Grossell, are you sure you can digest this?"

Grosser is only Sequence 5, although he has already digested the potion over the thousands of years in the book. Advancing to Sequence 4 is not an obstacle, but it requires the assistance of a ritual.

Now, not only is there no potion recipe, no ritual assistance, but even the extraordinary trait is two levels higher. Normally, directly consuming an extraordinary trait would absolutely lead to loss of control!

Although various extraordinary races frequently did this during the Second Era before the desecration of the tablets, now that there are safer methods available, even Shatas wouldn't attempt to directly ingest it.

She's just stubborn, not stupid.

"I'm fine."

Grosser smiled憨厚ly, took the ball of silvery light, and swallowed it.

The next second, the head of this enormous giant seemed to have rickets, and the entire head sank inward, slowly wriggling around the vertical eye on its forehead, as if it were forming a nebula vortex.

An inexplicable pain surged into his mind, making it difficult for this resilient giant to contain, and he almost let out a painful howl.

But the next second, the gentle flames burst into a fierce fire from his body.

Almost instantly, it filled the sunken 'vortex' and set the giant ablaze.

Edwina watched all of this with shining eyes, as if she wanted to record every detail of the process, seemingly without any concern that her ship would be destroyed due to the changes caused by the promotion.

A gentle warmth flowed into Grosser's body through the vortex, soothing his pain and bringing back distant memories. These included his time living in the Giants' Court and his experiences guarding the decaying forest…

All of these experiences made him nostalgic, and they also allowed him to understand the knowledge contained within certain extraordinary characteristics—

anchor.

By Sequence 3, one is considered a deity in a certain sense, capable of responding to prayers within a certain scope, and thus requires a certain anchor. Since one has not yet reached the level of an angel, the anchor may not be a believer; it can be replaced by other things, such as those distinct, mystical imprints in one's life.

The normal Witcher promotion sequence 3, Silver Knight, requires the assistance of a ritual, and even the blessing of a god, for this very reason.

Rituals can help them stay conscious in pain, and the things required for the ritual and the blessings of the gods can also serve as anchors to solidify their advancement and make them even stronger!

But now, none of that is there.

There were no rituals, no anchor points, and no divine blessings, only fire.

And this flame, which seems to burn everything in the world, yet also seems to warm everything, is Grosser's "anchor"!

When Grosser realized this, layers of illusory light sprouted from his back. They merged with the surrounding flames, continuously contracting inward, collapsing onto Grosser's body to form a sturdy, magnificent, yet weightless silver armor.

"Is that all?"

Mobert's eyes widened, clearly incredulous.

It's important to know that extraordinary individuals need the assistance of rituals starting from Sequence 5; otherwise, the risk of losing control will increase exponentially.

Even with the aid of rituals, the success rate is not high, and the process is by no means easy!

Back when he was advancing to Sequence 5, he almost turned into a wriggling worm because he lost control.

Now, right in front of him, Grosser skipped two sequences and, without any ritual assistance or potion recipe, directly advanced from Sequence 5 to Sequence 3 Silver Knight, a process as easy as eating and drinking!

The entire process lasted only a few minutes, and Grosser showed almost no sign of pain. He simply and naturally conjured silver armor within the flames, completing his advancement right before their eyes!

All of this made Mobert feel like it was all unreal.

He subconsciously wondered if angels could do that, but quickly dismissed the idea.

If angels could do these things, the Zoroaster family, under the old man's protection, wouldn't have had so many members lose control during their advancement. If it's because the old man's power is limited, then aren't other families the same?

Even with the Black Emperor's protection, the Solomon family's rise to power was accompanied by the risk of spiraling out of control.

Every year, many members of the Abraham family lose control due to failure to advance their careers, and the probability of them losing control is even higher than in other families!

But now, right in front of them, Ember easily did something that even angels or even gods couldn't do!

Does this mean...?

Mobert shook his head sharply, stopping himself from thinking any further, otherwise something bad would definitely happen!

Ember turned his gaze to Grosser, who had successfully advanced, and gave the order:

"You go back to Backlund with them first; I still have some things to take care of."

"Okay!" Grosser nodded without hesitation.

Although Klein was somewhat curious about what else Ember might be doing, he didn't press the matter and calmly said:

"I'm fine with it, but Grosser is too big, and it might cause some unnecessary trouble."

In an era when giants were almost extinct, the significance of a living giant was self-evident. Klein could already foresee that they would encounter pursuit from the Church of Storms and the military of Backlund on their return journey.

"I think there shouldn't be any problem with that."

Grosser thought for a moment, then took the initiative to speak, drawing the attention of the others.

The next second, in front of everyone, Grosser's body suddenly 'melted'.

He transformed into viscous, heavy 'mercury,' surging towards the nearest Longzel like a tidal wave, instantly engulfing him and making him appear as if he were wearing a full suit of silver armor.

A kind-looking face was visible on the chest of the armor, and Grosser hummed:

"Is this okay?"

"Can."

Gehrman Sparrow raised his hand, pinched his chin, and nodded slightly.

While the knight in his silver armor was eye-catching, he wasn't likely to arouse suspicion. After all, many adventurers dressed similarly; at most, they might look a bit silly, but it wouldn't attract the attention of the military.

of course.

This set of silver-white armor looks too 'gorgeous' and might attract the covetous eyes of some pirates. But such covetousness might also be an opportunity; with a Sequence 3 demigod escorting them, the journey should be smooth sailing.

Thinking about this made Klein feel much more relaxed.

Mobert suddenly asked:

"Shall we leave now?"

Edwina glanced at him, then gave a subtle look at Shatas, and said:

"You can rest well in Bayam for the night and set off tomorrow."

"During this period, the Golden Dream will remain in the nearby waters."

Mobert immediately looked at Shatas expectantly. The elf hesitated for two seconds, then nodded and accepted the offer.

Mobert breathed a sigh of relief and smiled:

"It's a good opportunity for us to learn about the local customs and culture. After thousands of years, it's time to take a good look at the world today."

(End of this chapter)