Activate the Ritual, Transform into the "Wise King of the Forest"
"Rie Lobel"
In a bustling port city, a cargo ship is loading supplies and preparing to set sail.
This is a merchant ship heading to the Holy Kingdom. At this moment, in addition to the normal goods, the ship also carries a shipment of "Regeneration Potion".
Recently
With the arrival of the renowned "Free Will" adventurer team in the city, the most profitable business has long since become the resale of "Regeneration Potion".
The merchant ship's owner knew very well that if he sold such a precious and rare potion as the "Regeneration Potion" to the Holy Kingdom, the profits would probably double.
The profits from these potions alone are almost equal to the profits from most of the cargo on the ship.
After handing over the medicine to the merchant ship owner, Enri breathed a sigh of relief; this was the largest amount of money they had ever handled.
He clutched the magic leather bag tightly in both hands, which contained a full 100 Platinum Rank, worth over 2000 gold coins if converted to gold coins.
Thinking of this...
Enri gripped the magic belt tighter, glanced around at the crowded people, and quickly left.
Ports are inherently chaotic places, and the transaction just now was witnessed by too many people. An ordinary young girl with a huge sum of money in her hands is nothing more than a walking piece of meat.
However--
Throughout the entire ordeal, no one paid any attention to Enri. In fact, most people were kind to Enri, greeting her and bowing to her in return.
The inexpensive medicine helped many poor people during this period.
There are only three people with "Free Will".
Aside from the genius Alchemist rarely shows himself and spends most of his time in the inn researching Alchemy, there are two other people who can be seen.
One is the cold-faced, extremely short-tempered Verdant Leaf Witch, and the other is the gentle and kind-hearted Enri. The main sales of the "Regeneration Potion" are handled by the two of them... or more precisely, by Enri.
This resulted in everyone from nobles to merchants and ordinary people needing to communicate with Enri to obtain the Regeneration Potion.
This has led to the current situation: anyone who dares to touch Enri will be fed to the fish, even without the captain's intervention (whose "Free Will" is involved). Merchants and nobles who profit from this will be sent to make a fortune.
Power inspires fear!
Only self-interest will motivate those who benefit from the status quo to actively protect it.
From the hotel window.
Tang Zheng watched as Enri, clutching her magic money bag, hurried back to the inn amidst well-meaning glances and a stream of people making way for her.
Even Enri herself didn't realize that perhaps no one dared to steal that money.
"Using self-interest to instigate is far more subtle and insidious than using force to oppress, isn't it?" Tang Zheng chuckled.
"I don't quite understand."
The Verdant Leaf Witch stood respectfully to the side, her bright yellow eyes showing confusion.
Tang Zheng shook his head. "The Holy Kingdom doesn't have close exchanges with this Kingdom, so a reputation from the Kingdom might not be very useful there."
"Having these merchant ships deliver the ' Regeneration Potion ' in advance will help us establish our reputation and save us a lot of trouble."
"I understand." The Verdant Leaf Witch finally looked enlightened, as if she had just come to her senses.
Tang Zheng's lips twitched slightly. What he had just said was actually two separate things.
Wait until Enri returns.
Tang Zheng praised and encouraged her, then had the Barghest protect Enri before secretly using Teleportation magic to bring the Verdant Leaf Witch to the deep forest of the Great Wetlands.
A thin white mist permeated the forest.
A wave of moist air rushed into the Verdant Leaf Witch's nostrils. Looking at the familiar, gray forest before her, her eyes were slightly dazed.
This used to be the territory of the Twin Witches, and now, without realizing it, so much time has passed since they left, and this is the first time they've returned.
She and her sister had once considered escaping, but they had long since given up on that idea, not only because of the strength their master had displayed.
It's also because they're following the person in front of them.
Their names will become even more famous, and they may even witness the birth of figures like the "Thirteen Heroes" in the history of various races.
Master possesses such strength and talent!
Both the Verdant Leaf Witch and the White Mist Witch firmly believed this.
"Master." The Verdant Leaf Witch spoke respectfully, her bright yellow eyes filled with awe.
Tang Zheng nodded and led the Verdant Leaf Witch to a pre-prepared open area deep in the dense forest.
This was also the place where he last studied the "Wild Shape" magic ritual. Thanks to the contributions of those demi -Demi-Human, he had gained a clearer understanding and knowledge of this magic ritual.
The entire magical ritual was quickly prepared.
"You stand at the center of the magical ritual."
"Yes, Master."
Without any hesitation, the Verdant Leaf Witch strode past the magical materials and arrived at the very center of the entire ceremony.
In the other person's hand, a blood-soaked heart, about the size of two palms, was being held.
This heart is the heart of the Wise King of the Forest, Hamsuke.
Tang Zheng walked to the front of the magic ritual, took out several magic leather bags from his waist, and put in the flesh and blood of the Wise King of the Forest that he had prepared in advance.
They took it out and dumped it all on the ground, piling it into a heap of flesh and blood half a person's height, the strong smell of blood spreading out.
Crimson blood seeped from the flesh, corroding the magical ritual.
The scent spread with the breeze, instantly attracting wild beasts and monsters from the depths of the forest, but before these monsters could get close...
The Verdant Leaf Witch, who had once ruled this dense forest, exuded a wave of magical power and let out a cold snort.
In an instant.
The commotion deep in the forest vanished without a trace.
Facing a pool of blood and flesh.
The Verdant Leaf Witch felt no discomfort, only a little puzzled. The smell of blood was fresh, indicating that it came from a monster that had recently died.
Are all the bones gone?
Judging from the flesh and muscles of this monster, it shouldn't be a boneless, wriggling type of monster.
The bones in the body of the Wise King of the Forest Hamsuke had long been absorbed and devoured by Tang Zheng's "Body Armament," leaving only a pile of flesh and blood.
As for freshness?
Storing it in the Item Box makes it naturally very fresh. Even if it is divided and stored in different magic bags, it only creates the external illusion of "not long after death".
"Eat the heart."
Tang Zheng spoke up to remind him.
The Verdant Leaf Witch looked at the large heart in her hand, blood dripping from between her fingers. A hint of hesitation flashed in her bright yellow pupils, but it quickly disappeared. She opened her mouth and stuffed it into her mouth.
"The ceremony begins!"
Tang Zheng straightened his expression, stood on the periphery of the magic ritual, raised his palm and placed it on the edge of the ritual area to activate the magic ritual.
Buzz--
A magical light rose up, and magical runes unfolded along the ritual, combining to form a blue magic circle on the ground.
The flesh and blood of the Wise King of the Forest Hamsuke, placed on the magical ritual table, were melting away at a visible speed, like snowflakes in the sunlight.
Flesh and blood flowed rapidly within the magic circle, transforming into streams of energy that converged along the patterns on the magic circle towards the Verdant Leaf Witch, who was located at the very center of the entire ritual.
"Snort--"
The Verdant Leaf Witch immediately felt a pure and intense energy continuously flowing into her body, causing pain to surge throughout her entire body, and she let out a muffled groan.
Buzz--Buzz--
The Verdant Leaf Witch's own magic uncontrollably reacted along with this energy, forming a shimmering, emerald-green light.
As the flesh and blood of the Wise King of the Forest continued to be transformed into energy, the Verdant Leaf Witch's body began to expand and grow uncontrollably.
First, thick gray fur appeared on its body surface. Then, the claws on its hands became sharp, and long, black nails extended and grew longer.
A tail covered in sturdy, snake-like scales emerged and quickly extended.
"The loss of a part of the body does not affect the process of change."
Tang Zheng calmly watched this scene, waiting for the Verdant Leaf Witch to complete her transformation. "The prerequisite is that the missing part cannot exceed one-third of the original demon's body; once it does, it will be affected."
Using the several Demi-Human that Imina had previously provided as experiments, the "Wild Shape Ritual" had been completely figured out.
The monster's "heart" is the medium; the entire ritual cannot be performed without consuming the heart first. Conversely, consuming only the "heart" without the monster's flesh and blood is also impossible.
Therefore, during the transformation process, the person undergoing the transformation will use their own flesh and blood as energy, a process that is destined to fail.
To reach this conclusion, a Demi-Human died three times before the truth was fully understood.
This is just one of Tang Zheng's experiments.
for example.
Tang Zheng tried to feed a Demi-Human a normal "heart," then used the corpses of other monsters as a substitute, but the attempt failed.
Even if it's the same monster, as long as the "heart" isn't the original monster's heart, it will still fail. During this process, the demi -Demi-Human's body exploded and he died.
The conclusion, to use a term from my past life, is "rejection reaction"!
A very interesting phenomenon
The magical ritual, which may not seem complicated, follows extremely rigid, or rather, standard, rules.
"Um?"
Tang Zheng stared at the magic circle that had been activated before him, and a pale blue magical light suddenly appeared in his eyes.
"What is this?"
He found that the magical ritual suddenly became clearer under his gaze, revealing the flow of magic power, the energy changes within the magic circle, and so on.
What's going on?
He had seen the "Wild Shape" magic ritual before, but never like this one.
Tang Zheng pondered for a moment, and a thought popped into his mind, "Could it be that the passive skill ' Magic Master ' of [Magic Overlord] is at work?"
This passive ability seems to be "the ability to easily master various complex and advanced magical techniques".
Boom!
The blue light emitted by the magic circle suddenly brightened by one degree, and the vibrating magic returned to calm and dissipated.
Smoke and dust dissipated.
Standing over two meters tall and with a robust build, it was covered in thick, hard brown fur, with two outstretched claws and sharp, black nails a meter long resting on its chest.
Bathed in the light filtering through the dense forest, it still shone with a metallic sheen, even in the darkness.
Snap!!
Its long tail, twenty meters long and far exceeding its body size, swayed slightly in mid-air, and each unconscious lash produced a rapid, sonic boom.
I saw that familiar figure before me.
A smile appeared on Tang Zheng's face. If he hadn't personally orchestrated the entire process, he would have thought that the Wise King of the Forest, Hamsuke, had truly been resurrected.
"Owner."
The Wise King of the Forest, transformed from the Verdant Leaf Witch, felt an unprecedented surge of power within her and let out a cry of surprise.
(End of this chapter)