Light and shadow intertwined, and all the scenes in the light screens gathered back into a ball of milky-white flame.
Atop the milky-white flame, a vision gradually took shape: a hunched, elderly man. He had lost one eye, and his life was clearly hanging by a thread.
"People of the future, the Star Core is the central control system of the Aurora Metal Fortress. If you wish to return to the Orora World, you must first break through this world's star-screen barrier, then use the Star Core to activate the space-time fortress communications device and contact the Orora World."
"Where is the Orora World?"
But the message seemed to be no more than a letter. Reilo, in his little black-figure form, received no answer.
The old man continued, "The Grand Elder has already been sealed by the indigenous creatures. The traitors are growing stronger by acquiring Faith Power, while we have become dark creatures, rejected by this world. Our knowledge of this continent remains shrouded in darkness and the unknown. Many members of our family who tried to explore and expand our territory never returned."
The old man's gaze was desolate, as if he no longer held any hope. He had left this letter only out of an instinctive sense of duty.
"I never thought I would die here."
The old man's voice was unbearably lonely, despondent, and regretful.
"The Star Core records information on valuable resources found in the explored parts of this world's continents. Because the family's inheritance seal forbids its unauthorized disclosure, this is the result of a lifetime of work I created..."
Gradually, dense lines of text appeared before Reilo's eyes.
The characters differed somewhat from modern human writing, but they bore a few similarities. After making out three or four characters, he pieced them together into sentences and could vaguely discern their meaning.
"What is this?"
Self-Control Stage One: Muscle Self-Control. Due to the limits of the body's energy supply from food, people usually use only twenty percent of their physical capacity. Only in a very small number of life-threatening situations do they unlock their potential and use one hundred percent of it. By refining a toxin that dissolves flesh and blood, one can put the cells under threat. Then, by administering an antidote, repeatedly poisoning and detoxifying the body stimulates adrenaline secretion and improves the body's ability to adapt to adrenaline, gradually unlocking one hundred percent of the basic potential of the body's cells. Stage Two: Heart Self-Control. Blood is the body's basic unit of energy. Find creatures of extreme cold and extreme heat that can regenerate, then repeatedly inject their blood into the heart. As the heart repeatedly contracts and expands in extreme cold and heat, the regenerative factors in the blood are strengthened. This allows one to control the speed of the heart's blood flow at will, gaining the ability to hibernate and briefly unleash extraordinary bursts of strength. Stage Three: Five Senses Self-Control. The five senses form the basis of the body's awareness of the outside world. Find radiation stones and, through accumulated, microscopic stimulation of the body's cells, gain minute perception through sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. This improves one's judgment, allowing one to choose the optimal way to fight in the shortest possible time.
"Huh?"
It was like he had just experienced a dream that had felt almost real. After struggling a few times, Reilo finally opened his weary eyes, a glimmer of light appearing in them.
"Mm..."
He couldn't help letting out a pained groan.
His body seemed to have grown incredibly stiff from lying still for so long. In a fetal position, he peered through blurry eyes and vaguely made out lots of little fish swimming around.
Then he realized what was happening. Reilo instinctively let out a muffled "Ugh" and struggled frantically like a drowning man, sending the little fish scattering.
At that moment, Reilo was lying in a huge fish tank, breathing through a special mask.
Splash!
Reilo suddenly stood up out of the water, gasping violently as he stared in confusion at everything around him.
The noise woke Jiahei, who had been napping nearby. Reilo stared blankly around the unfamiliar room, which was filled with all kinds of creature specimens. Though he didn't recognize them, he could clearly sense how rare and powerful they had been in life. They were all Magical Beasts!
The Black Cat yawned with a "meow" and said nonchalantly, "You're awake?"
"Huh?"
Reilo struggled to remember, and managed to recall some of what had happened.
Creak.
The wooden door opened.
"Junior Brother, you're finally awake!"
The delighted voice belonged to Bailing. She had returned from collecting specimens in the Demon Eagle Forest and had been drawn here by the sound of Reilo struggling in the water. Seeing him dazed and confused, she ran over, overcome with joy, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes.
"Senior Sister?"
Reilo froze, then suddenly remembered something...
Pfft!
Seeing Reilo like that, Bailing burst into laughter through her tears.
"Senior Sister, get out first!" Reilo said anxiously.
Though Bailing still had tears in the corners of her eyes, she was now laughing so hard she could barely stand. Pointing at Reilo, she giggled nonstop. He looked truly comical and adorable to her.
It took a while for Bailing to catch her breath. Turning her back to him, she said, "I put all your things in the Space Box. I'll go downstairs and ask Mother to prepare some food. You'd better rest a little longer and let the Remnant Bait Fish clean your wounds, so they don't leave scars. Come out later."
"Senior Sister! How many days was I unconscious?" Reilo hurriedly asked while he had the chance.
"Nine days!"
After Bailing closed the door, Reilo crouched in the bathtub and murmured dazedly, "I was unconscious for nine days."
An odd, itchy numbness came from his shoulder bone. Reilo froze and looked down. More than a hundred round-mouthed little fish in the tank had gathered around the raw, bloody flesh, nibbling at it nonstop. His wound was clearly visible. It was easy to imagine how perilous the battle nine days ago had been!
If not for...
Right!
The Star Core Necklace!
He frantically searched for the Star Core Necklace. Now Reilo finally knew where it had come from: it was tied to the historical feud between Witchers and The Church, and even traced back to another unknown world called Orora!
No wonder the capital of the Great Empire of Light was named Aurora!
"These Remnant Bait Fish are precious healing creatures your mentor borrowed, and the restorative potion in the tank is even more valuable. With injuries like yours, even if you hadn't been left disabled, it would've taken months to recover."
Jiahei muttered on, bored. Reilo looked over and finally spotted his Space Box. He couldn't help asking anxiously, "Why are you still here?"
The Black Cat looked at Reilo strangely. When she realized what he meant, she snapped, "What are you looking at?"
"Huh?"
Suddenly, a mysterious line of text appeared before Reilo's eyes.
Prompt: High-energy unknown life-form detected. Blocked by an unknown Energy Magnetic Field.
Remembering something, Reilo hurriedly took off the mask that had helped him breathe.
The mask was emerald green, carved with countless tiny wooden scales, each just a few millimeters across and etched with even finer spiral patterns. It seemed to hold other secrets as well.
Could the Star Core Necklace have fused with this mask?
"Hey, handsome, come play with me! Hee-hee-hee."
A strange woman's voice suddenly came from behind him. Reilo instinctively turned around and saw a tall girl with wheat-colored skin lying on the table, beckoning to him with her finger. He was horrified. "Who are you?"
At the same time, another prompt appeared before Reilo's eyes.
Prompt: High-energy unknown life-form detected. Blocked by an unknown Energy Magnetic Field.
The wheat-skinned girl turned back into a Black Cat. She glanced at the dumbfounded Reilo, then left the room without looking back, muttering, "Idiot."
Reilo wasn't angry at Jiahei for teasing him. He stared in disbelief. "The Star Core... fused with me!"