Decay Power

Boer felt a little strange.

It was the first time he had seen his brother so excited.

It was as if he were about to take Boer to witness the birth of a miracle.

"Come, great new chieftain. Try these fresh berries, and remember how they taste now."

Ned plucked a berry from the grass and tossed it to his younger brother with a grin.

Boer caught it.

It was an ordinary blue berry.

He took a bite.

It wasn't particularly tasty, but it wasn't especially bad, either.

Ned asked his brother to hand back the berry he'd bitten into.

Then he lightly touched the berry's skin with the sharp tip of the Rot Spirit Staff.

A strange, pale-blue light flashed across the staff.

"Here."

Ned handed him the blue berry, which looked as though it had shriveled a little.

Boer took it again and tried another bite.

The taste made him hunch over at once, and he nearly spat it out.

The sour, bitter taste lingered so long that it nearly brought tears to his eyes.

It tasted just like a berry that had gone bad after sitting around for months.

But he had just tasted this freshly picked fruit, and there had been nothing wrong with it.

Ned burst out laughing and raised his right hand, explaining his discovery.

After gaining the power to control Rot Spirit Insects,

he had soon discovered that the Rot Spirit Staff possessed another power as well—decay.

As long as he held the Rot Spirit Staff, whenever its tip touched something, it released a power that made all things decay.

And there was more.

Ned had also confirmed that the staff only released this power when he himself was holding it.

"Impressive, huh? Your big brother's pretty amazing."

Watching his younger brother's astonished expression, Ned asked with a smug air, as if he'd gotten exactly the reaction he wanted.

"Impressive. Honestly."

Boer replied with utmost seriousness.

To show his respect and indulge Ned's bragging, he even tucked his walking stick into his belt and applauded.

He was genuinely envious and curious about the marvelous ability his brother had gained.

"Can it make anything decay?"

"Of course. This is the power of a Divine Envoy."

Ned said.

He had kept a few things to himself, though.

Using this power came at a price.

Sometimes, the hand gripping the Rot Spirit Staff suffered a backlash.

The stronger the decay power he applied,

the blacker his hand became, until it went numb. Eventually, even some of the muscle dissolved.

Fortunately, the damage wasn't irreversible.

As long as it hadn't decayed too badly, applying Insect Herbal Medicine and resting for a while would gradually help it recover.

The price hadn't stopped Ned from continuing his experiments.

As it turned out,

apart from a few exceptionally hard stones, it seemed nothing else could withstand this terrifying power.

Once touched, things quickly became so fragile that they crumbled apart like loose sand.

He wondered—

if he could extend the range of the Rot Spirit Staff's effect,

perhaps he could use it against the Sea Monster.

The Rot Spirit Staff's effect was somewhat similar to that of another Divine Artifact in the Tribe—the Lightning Bow.

Once separated from his hand, the staff's decay effect didn't vanish immediately.

Instead, it faded gradually.

And so,

Ned believed he should be able to throw the Rot Spirit Staff like an arrow. Its sharp tip could easily pierce the surface of any living creature and remain lodged in its flesh for a long time.

He had also tested the staff's durability. Ordinary methods couldn't damage it at all.

But he still needed to think about how to further develop this power.

Mona occasionally glanced over at the man chosen by the Apostle.

He had also seen Ned excitedly showing off his newly acquired power.

Of course,

the so-called new power of the Rot Spirit Staff that Ned had mastered wasn't actually anything new.

The Rot Spirit Staff and the Abigail Flower were parent and child.

Whatever the Abigail Flower possessed,

the staff would possess some of it, too.

The power of decay had always existed within the Abigail Flower. It was the power of Decay Essence.

Mona knew

that although it appeared to be decay, he had already seen through the nature of this color when he first obtained the Decay Essence.

At its root, it was actually the power of life.

When this almost bewitching color touched a living being, it instantly disrupted the balance within, forcing life to expand until it was pushed rapidly toward its end: withering and decay.

That was why the Abigail Flower had split it off.

If it had kept such a powerful force within itself, it, too, might easily have been corrupted by that power.

For the Abigail Flower, the risk of this power far outweighed its usefulness, so even after its birth, it had never revealed or used this ability.

Mona soon checked the color of Ned's soul.

Just like his mother,

Ned had a somewhat unusual "Nature Affinity lv1."

"Nature Affinity lv1": The talent to understand the principles of nature and the languages of living beings. This makes it easier for him to understand and master certain powers or knowledge related to nature.

Generally speaking, even if an ordinary human obtained the Rot Spirit Staff, he would probably only be able to control one or two insects at most.

Even with the staff's help, it would be extremely difficult for an ordinary human to understand Insect Manipulation, which was completely at odds with the structure of human life.

But Ned had mastered this power quite well. Clearly, it was closely connected to his talent.

[Insect Master lv1] Ned

[Age]: 21

[Talents]: "Nature Affinity lv1" "Inspire lv1"

[Knowledge]: "Herbalism lv1" "Insect Manipulation lv1" "Weaving lv1"

[Sequence]: None

[Skills]: "Rot Spirit Manipulation lv1"

[Seeker of Freedom, Favored by All Things. He has a peculiar power to call to and connect with living things in nature.]

Now,

after Ned received the gift of power from the Rot Spirit Flower,

he had gained a new profession called Insect Master.

At the same time, the Drawing Board began to glow.

[Your follower has unlocked a new soul color.]

[A new career category has been unlocked in your Career Tree.]

[You can click Faith to view it.]

"A new career category?"

Mona thought for a moment, then looked toward Faith.

There, the recently appeared Career Tree was glowing faintly.