The Benefits of Chapter 40

The Portal opened directly inside Gargoyle Monastery. Li Feng had barely stepped through when Ophiel hurried over, returned The Key of Solomon to him, and said, "Mr. Austin, this is your spellbook. Thank you for lending me The Key of Solomon so my brothers and sisters could remain in the human world and continue fighting."

Looking somewhat exhausted, Li Feng yawned and waved a hand. "No need to thank me. As for The Key of Solomon, I said I was giving it to you, so keep it yourself."

Ophiel shook his head, pressed The Key of Solomon into Li Feng's hands, and smiled. "The important thing about this book is its contents. While you were away from the monastery, we copied everything down. So we thought it would be better to return this original edition of The Key of Solomon, which possesses a certain amount of energy, to you. It's a fine collectible."

Ophiel gestured for Li Feng to follow him and spoke as they walked. "Some of the low-level spells I previously deciphered have been reviewed by the Queen. Now, the Queen has invited you to the reception hall and intends to hand them over to you personally."

Heh, they didn't trust me before, but now they're being so polite. I bet they're not really planning to give me the spells—they want to ask where I went after leaving the monastery. These Gargoyles really like beating around the bush. Why not just ask me directly? It's not like I'd hide it.

Muttering inwardly, Li Feng followed Ophiel to the reception hall.

Inside, Leom, who had originally been seated on the throne, was examining a spell scroll deciphered by Ophiel. Seeing Li Feng arrive, he rose and said with a smile, "I heard that you lent The Key of Solomon to Ophiel and helped wipe out the Demons that invaded the monastery."

Leono gave a slight bow. "Thank you for your help."

She was the Queen, after all. Li Feng could not accept such a formal gesture from Leono. The Gargoyles would beat him to death for it. He quickly stepped aside to avoid her bow and waved his hand. "It was nothing. I was inside the monastery at the time, so if the Demons stormed in, I wouldn't have been able to run either. You can consider letting Ophiel use The Key of Solomon an act of self-preservation."

Leono smiled, then turned to Gideon, who stood nearby like a wooden statue. Gideon nodded slightly, picked up a silver-white flask inlaid with fragments of gemstones, and walked over to Li Feng. "This is a gift the Queen specially prepared for you in gratitude for helping the monastery defeat the Demons."

Leono gestured for Li Feng to accept the flask. "This flask is merely a simple item. It can keep the liquid inside from spoiling for a long time."

After taking the flask, Li Feng carefully studied the Magic Runes on it. He had been a Mage for too short a time and had too little knowledge stored in his mind. He could only vaguely make out a small part of what the runes meant.

"Everyone knows that Holy Water is made when priests recite scripture over it, and that it can exorcise evil and treat certain minor illnesses," Leono said with a smile as she looked at the flask in Li Feng's hand. "But that is merely ordinary Holy Water. True Holy Water is much more powerful, though its production is exceedingly complicated. The Holy Water in your flask is top-grade Holy Water made by the monastery."

Li Feng's first reaction after hearing her explanation was to roll his eyes. Damn it. Ordinary Holy Water is just mortals reciting scripture over water, but you are Gargoyles of angels. I know exactly how terrifying the Holy Water made by your prayers can be. Other than Naberius, the Demon Prince, any other Demon who touched it would probably drop dead on the spot.

It's only because making Holy Water is such a hassle. Otherwise, if you had it in bulk, all you'd need to do during a Demon invasion would be point water guns at them. That would be better than any blade or gun. If you really wanted to go all out, you could load Holy Water into fire trucks, charge straight into the Demons' lair, and spray them senseless. Even Naberius probably couldn't withstand being soaked in Holy Water.

And if your brains were a little more flexible, you could study technology, figure out how to send massive amounts of Holy Water into the sky, and make it fall as Holy Water rain. Those Demons would truly become sewer rats.

But what does giving me Holy Water mean? Demons use Dark Energy, but so do I. It's not like you don't know that. Are you trying to get rid of me?

Leono seemed to see through Li Feng's wild thoughts and said with a smile, "I think you have some misunderstandings about Holy Water. The monastery's Holy Water is primarily used for Purification. It is so effective against evil things such as Demons because their souls are already twisted."

Leono explained softly, "Using Holy Water has nothing to do with what kind of energy you wield. Energy is simply energy; it has no distinction between good and evil. Dark Energy is corrosive, but is Faith Power safe? Faith Power is equally dangerous. Otherwise, why don't the priests of those gods use the Faith Power they collect themselves? Why do they offer it to their gods, allowing the gods to transform it before returning it to the priests in the form of Mana?"

Leono pointed at the flask. "This Holy Water can purify your body and soul while also strengthening your resistance to the corrosion of Dark Energy, making your path as a Mage smoother."

Li Feng was not sure whether Leono was telling the truth. He felt that giving him Holy Water was more likely a test. If he turned to ash after drinking it, then he was an enemy. If he remained unharmed, then he was a guest.

After thinking it over, Li Feng opened the flask and lightly dabbed a bit of Holy Water with his right index finger, sensing the changes within himself. Doesn't seem like anything changed.

Li Feng glanced at the smiling Leono, then put his right index finger into his mouth and continued sensing the Holy Water's effects on him.

The moment his finger entered his mouth, Li Feng felt a portion of his Mana vanish into thin air, but its purity increased by a trace.

Li Feng did not care about losing Mana, since he could recover it through meditation. But the increase in Mana purity was a huge surprise. Normally, there was no way to refine Mana other than grinding away at it through meditation, yet now a single sip of Holy Water could accomplish it.

There's such a good thing? Licking his lips, Li Feng prepared to tilt back the flask and drain the remaining Holy Water.

Seeing what he was about to do, Gideon hurriedly reached out to stop him. "Mr. Austin, it will be more effective if you drink an amount equal to a bottle cap each time after fully recovering your Mana. We estimate that after you finish this flask of Holy Water, your Mana purity will double."

After hearing Gideon's explanation, Li Feng did not know whether the Holy Water could truly strengthen his resistance to Dark Energy's corrosion, but its ability to purify Mana was undeniably real. Seeing that his Mana pool was still basically full, Li Feng raised the flask and carefully took a small sip.

After a long while, Li Feng, who had closed his eyes to sense the changes in his Mana, smacked his lips and muttered, "One small sip consumed half my Mana, but its purity rose by a full level. Not bad. Good stuff."

Raising the flask, Li Feng leaned slightly toward Leono and said, "Thank you. This gift is of great help to me, so I'll gratefully accept it."

In truth, Leono had been carefully observing Li Feng's changes ever since he drank the Holy Water. Only after seeing that his appearance had not changed in the slightest did Leono secretly breathe a sigh of relief. She handed the spell scroll in her hand to Li Feng and said, "This sudden Demon attack has put war on the verge of breaking out, so our greatest priority now is preparing for battle. Time is tight, and we have only managed to decipher the principles behind some low-level spells for you. Once we finish dealing with this busy period, I will decipher the remaining spells for you."

Li Feng accepted the scroll. "Thank you once again for your help. For now, these low-level spells are already enough to keep me studying for quite a while. If there is nothing else, I'd like to return to my room and rest."

Leono turned to glance at Ophiel, signaling him to take Li Feng to a guest room to rest.

Once Li Feng had disappeared from the reception hall, Gideon looked at Leono and asked, "Aren't you going to ask where he went after leaving the monastery?"

Leono shook her head. "Since he drank the Holy Water without being harmed and even benefited from it, that proves Austin is not working with the Demons and is not an evil person. Our duty is to destroy Demons and protect humanity. Whatever Austin wishes to do has nothing to do with us."

After returning to his room, Li Feng eagerly sat at the head of the bed and opened the scroll. As he examined what spells it contained and recorded them in his Magic Book, he also pondered their principles.

After a long while, Li Feng rubbed his brow and muttered to himself, "They call these low-level spells, but some seem even more useful than high-level ones to me. Take the Healing Spell, for example. Although my Mana attribute means I can't bring out its full potential, even this crippled Healing Spell could make me an excellent surgeon. If I opened a hospital, I could heal a patient with a wave of my hand. I'd probably count money until my hands cramped."

"And there's the stamina recovery spell. It only takes a little Mana to turn me from completely exhausted to full of vigor in an instant. Those pretty boys kept by rich women would probably hire me at a high price every time they engaged in healthy activities."

After a long while, a knock sounded outside the door, pulling Li Feng back from his fantasies.

Li Feng wiped the drool from his mouth, got up, and opened the door. Mordo stood outside, frowning as he held a bottle of liquor.

Li Feng stepped aside to let Mordo into the room. "What happened? You don't look like the Mage I remember."

"Adam is back." Mordo took a swig of liquor before continuing. "He told Leono that Naberius wants to use Frankenstein's notes to resurrect the corpses he collected long ago, intending to unleash tens of thousands of evil spirits upon Earth."

Li Feng scratched his head. He had known about this news for a long time; he had simply never mentioned it. "Does that have something to do with you looking like such a wreck?"

"Leono issued a war order after learning what happened. That's nothing. I understand. I even wanted to join the battle, but..." Mordo glanced at the door, pointed at his ears, and gritted his teeth as he lowered his voice angrily. "After Adam left, I heard Leoro order Gideon to follow Adam. Once Gideon finds Frankenstein's notebook, he will kill Adam to prevent the method of creating Resurrected Corpses from falling into Naberius's hands."

Li Feng said, "What are you conflicted about? The Mordo I know would agree with that decision, wouldn't he? After all, Adam's existence violates the natural Law."

Mordo froze for a moment, then poured the liquor in his hand into his mouth. "But you once said that God permitted Adam's existence. And I can't see anything evil about Adam. Our duty is to protect. We have no right to deprive him of his right to live."