The Blessing at the Bonfire Festival

"Sounds good. What do you charge?"

"Just one Silver Taler, sir." Perrin rubbed his hands eagerly as he answered.

"Then take me to experience the passion of the Tzimali people." Ace said gently.

"Certainly, sir. Would you like to change into some of our local clothing? It'll help you better experience the festival atmosphere. Renting an outfit costs only ten Copper Talers, while buying one costs one Silver Taler." Perrin said to Ace with some eagerness.

Ace had no objection to this. When taking part in a local festival, blending in with the crowd was naturally the best choice. Besides, he had struck it rich and had several hundred Gold Taler on hand. Money was the least of his concerns.

Ace changed into the clothes of a local man. With a bamboo hat on his head, a short-sleeved, short-hemmed top, and wide-legged shorts resembling oversized underpants below, cinched with a black belt, he looked exactly like a Tzimali fisherman heading out to sea.

He tucked his most important spellbook into the left side of his belt, hung the magic shortsword "Glimmer" diagonally at his right side, placed the Rune Tome and his magic notes into his backpack, then slung it over his back. Ace joined Perrin in following the crowd, singing and dancing all the while.

The joyous atmosphere infected Ace, and his mood became exceptionally cheerful as well. It was nice to relax like this every once in a while.

"This street is the most prosperous commercial street in all of Tzimali. As long as you have money, you can find plenty of good things here."

"That watchtower over there is the tallest building in Tzimali. We've relied on it many times to spot sneak attacks by fishmen."

"This stone-paved road leading to the statue was bestowed by the great Lord Pontos. Legend says that a devout believer moved Him. He drew massive rocks from the seabed, cut them into neat stone blocks, and paved the road all the way to the feet of the statue."

"Our girls are daughters of the sea. Not only do they dress more boldly than women from the inland, but they also have fierier personalities. If Your Excellency the Great Scholar stays here for a while, you'll surely get a taste of it."

The girls around them wore little more than a bandeau over their upper bodies and high-waisted slit skirts below, with fishing nets draped over them. They sang loudly along with the rhythm. Several bold girls whistled at Ace. Their fiery ocean dance, and their pale thighs flashing beneath the firelight, made for an even more alluring sight.

He had never expected a fishing port in another world to be so open. Under the glow of the flames, Ace's face flushed faintly red.

Ace closed his eyes and activated the minor spell card, Minor Ultrasonic Perception. Centered on him, ultrasonic waves reverberated through a space with a radius of roughly five hundred meters. The information gathered by his senses sketched a magnificent scene in his mind.

Fiery dragons wound through the entire fishing port city, converging upon the central square. The people within them sang and danced; fiery girls and distinctive local dances filled the streets. This was the first time Ace had felt so happy in another world, and an impulse arose within him—to preserve this moment forever.

Perhaps he could try painting an oil painting, Ace thought. He possessed powerful spiritual perception and precise spiritual control, and his studies of runes had honed his keen sense of spatial composition. He was perfectly capable of creating an oil painting depicting this beautiful spectacle.

He completely let go, sensing it all and enjoying it all. His spirit felt warm, as though it were about to float into the sky. His spiritual power was incomparably full, and he actually entered a meditative state naturally. The intensity of his spiritual power began to rise rapidly.

"We've reached the square. That's the statue of Pontos worshipped by Tzimali. It's carved entirely from marble and took twenty years to complete."

Ace opened his eyes instinctively. His spiritual perception touched the statue, and he sensed countless traces of spiritual power and magic power gathering there in an extremely orderly pattern. At a deeper level, it seemed to be linked to some existence. A shudder ran through his entire body, and he instantly broke free of that warm, drifting state, as if he had fallen from a great height.

A great deal of sweat seeped directly from his body, trickling down his neck, chest, and ankles with a drip, drip, drip.

Ace had no time to regret missing an excellent chance to touch a higher realm. He swiftly drew in his spiritual perception, like a small beast that had encountered an epic fierce beast, just short of playing dead on the spot.

The statue seemed connected to something. Ace had merely sensed it vaguely and unintentionally, yet just one corner of that great existence had left him awestruck. It felt as though he had fallen into an abyss, icy cold from head to toe.

That great existence had not paid attention to him at all, just as a person would never care about an ant's peeping. The mere aura inadvertently sensed by Ace was enough to intimidate him. This was likely the might of Lord Pontos—divine majesty like a prison.

Wouldn't a line like "terrifying indeed" fit the atmosphere better right now? After choosing to follow his heart, Ace silently mocked himself inwardly.

He carefully controlled his spiritual power and magic power, terrified that even the slightest leak might draw the attention of that great existence. Yet an idea was growing wildly within his heart. He recalled a saying from his previous life: "He can be replaced!"

I may be weak, but I have always believed that as long as life has not reached its end, as long as I persist in an objective and impartial spirit of research, I will eventually uncover the mysteries of this extraordinary world. Even that immensely terrifying great existence of today will one day lie upon my laboratory table.

The smile had vanished from Ace's face, leaving him expressionless. Yet the thought in his heart grew larger and larger, its roots sinking ever deeper. This kind of world was truly fascinating.

The crowd sang and danced in boisterous celebration. Yet Ace had lost that intense feeling of being moved by life. Even those pale, flashing thighs could not shake his resolve. The path of a spellcaster was, in the end, lonely.

He danced with the crowd, drank great gulps of cloudy wine with them, and devoured mouthfuls of delicious grilled fish. He smiled at the girls whistling at him, but his heart was strangely calm, as though he stood apart from the crowd.

He cautiously observed the statue with his naked eyes. The joy in the air seemed to leap and dance. More and more spiritual power and magic power gathered around the statue. In the vision of his spiritual power, everything around him was black and white, while the statue resembled a blazing ball of multicolored light. He did not even need to deliberately sense it to feel that almost tangible radiance.

It seemed that gods might require this multicolored power, mixed with joyful spiritual power and magic power. Perhaps it could be called the power of faith? He simply did not know its specific use or effects, Ace thought.

A melodious bell rang out. It was ten o'clock. Everyone ceased their revelry and fell prostrate before the statue. Ace continued to follow his heart and prostrated himself along with the others.

The ball of light seemed to have reached its limit. As the people knelt devoutly, its radiance flared brilliantly. Then it instantly shrank into a single point and vanished. All that remained were tiny balls of light emitting starlike radiance, like ripples splashed forth when the great ball of light contracted, drifting through the air.

Ace cautiously extended his spiritual perception toward the nearest small ball of light. Yet the instant his spiritual power touched it, it seemed to become sentient and shot straight toward Ace.

This ball of light was the blessing Perrin had told Ace about. Perrin stared wide-eyed at the ball of light rushing toward Ace. He had never expected this outsider to receive Pontos's blessing. What incredible luck.

Ace did not see it that way. Directly touching an unidentified creation related to a god was far too dangerous. Left with no other choice, he drew "Glimmer" from his waist and tried to block the small ball of light.

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