Lord of Prayer

Chapter 155: Chapter 120: Wishing Spring Water (2)

Hermes spread his hands. “But damaged or not, it’s still a supreme creation of Authority. Once you repair it and reach Tier Four, you can use it to ascend to Tier Five and become a Crowned King.”

The “crown” in Crowned King refers to Authority.

“So, how do I repair it?” Zhou Chen asked.

“Nurture it within your Soul, and the Hammer of Casting will repair itself. Also, the more you forge, the faster the Hammer of Forging will recover. I recall you’re an Alchemist, so you can use that identity as a cover,” Hermes said.

’Maybe I can also use a wish to repair it…’ Zhou Chen muttered to himself.

“Anything else you want to ask?”

“Yes.”

Zhou Chen quickly asked, “I want to know why the Old Era was destroyed.”

In Robert’s memories, Hermes had said the gods of old were all greedy ones who brought about the destruction of the Old Era. Since he had traveled through so many Restricted Areas, he must have some relevant clues.

Hermes shook his head helplessly. “I can’t tell you. That period of history was deliberately sealed and erased. It can’t be recorded or conveyed through writing, speech, or any other means. You can only uncover it yourself, little by little. Besides, I haven’t gotten close to the truth, either. The only thing I can tell others is what you’ve surely already seen in Robert’s memories.”

To this day, not even the Star Association has managed to unearth the truth of the Old Era’s destruction, let alone him.

“Oh, right. This is for you.”

Hermes pulled a black and gold invitation from his coat pocket and handed it to Zhou Chen.

“What’s this?” Zhou Chen turned it over in his hands. The invitation was inscribed with some unknown script. The moment he took it, it formed a connection with his Soul, and he felt it could dissolve into Essence and merge with his body.

“An invitation to Zone 009. You could also think of it as an activation code for a game.”

Hermes said, “I’m the only one in this World who can freely enter and exit Restricted Areas. Zone 009 is an exception, though. It opens for a period of time each year, and only people with an invitation can get in.

“To be specific, it’s a Restricted Area that has been twisted by the Power of the Gods. The World inside has been gamified, and those who hold invitations are ’Players.’ Just ask your superior, and he’ll fill you in.”

’Twisted by the Power of the Gods… Gamified…’ Zhou Chen’s mouth fell open. No wonder everyone said the Restricted Areas were strange. This was the first he’d ever heard of something like this.

“Alright, our time is about up. We should get going.”

As they were about to part, Hermes looked at him and said, “I hope you can carry on Robert’s art of casting. It will be a great asset to you.”

“And don’t forget to be a good person.”

The King of Music smiled, producing a vinyl record from thin air and handing it to Zhou Chen. “By the way, this track has already surpassed ten million plays on all the major music platforms. Your efforts have been recognized by countless people.”

Zhou Chen took the record and gave them a solemn nod. “I will.”

In the next second, the figures of the two Crowned Kings vanished.

For someone like Hermes, even the Star Association headquarters was a place he could come and go as he pleased.

Zhou Chen placed the record on his nightstand. Another wave of exhaustion washed over him; clearly, he hadn’t fully recovered from his injuries yet.

So, he collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep.

’I’ll figure it out when I wake up.’

·

「Three days later.」

Zhou Chen awoke in a drowsy haze, feeling as if he still hadn’t had enough sleep.

However, less than thirty seconds later, a group of medical personnel filed in and began a detailed examination, which jolted him fully awake.

The results showed that his body had recovered, but traces of spiritual pollution remained, so he would need to stay in the hospital for another day or two for observation.

’This is pretty good, too. I can slack off and still get paid.’

After the doctors left, Zhou Chen closed his eyes and looked at his Wish Bottle.

And then he froze.

’My Star Dust? Where did all my Star Dust go?!’

Staring at the Wish Bottle, which now contained only a scattering of Star Dust, Zhou Chen was completely bewildered. Even after performing a “miracle” to save Erin, shouldn’t there be some left?

He immediately sent his consciousness soaring into the Round Table Hall. His perspective sank, bringing him beside the Wishing Pool, where he was instantly stunned by the sight.

The previously bone-dry basin of the Wishing Fountain now had a layer of water at the bottom!

It was only a very thin sheen of water, but it was definitely different than before.

’Did performing the “miracle” further activate the Wish Bottle’s ability, causing the remaining Star Dust to flow here and become Wishing Spring Water?’

Zhou Chen stroked his chin, speculating. He reached out to touch the thin layer of water, but not a single drop clung to his fingertip.

’It feels like I’ve gained a new ability…’

Even though the Star Dust had become Wishing Spring Water, the Power of Wishes it contained hadn’t vanished.

He could now use the power of the Wishing Spring Water in this Mysterious Space to remotely grant the wishes of Wishers.

Zhou Chen decided to test it out immediately. With a single thought, countless brilliantly colored Wish Bubbles materialized around him. He then selected a few wishes.

The first: A teenager was having a bad acne breakout due to puberty. He wished to wake up one day to a smooth face, with all his pimples completely gone.

With a thought from Zhou Chen, the Wish Bubble flew toward the water in the Wishing Pool. The instant it made contact, the bubble popped.

Immediately, the pimples on the sleeping teenager’s face began to vanish. In just a few moments, his skin was smooth and clear, without a single blemish.

The second: A balding programmer, who was actually twenty-four but looked forty-two, wished for his hair to grow back. Losing his once-glorious mane was a source of eternal sorrow for him.

’I understand the pain of hair loss all too well.’

Back in college, Zhou Chen had to pull all-nighters to cram for finals every semester. His hair would fall out in clumps each time, never to grow back. Fortunately, now that he was an Ascender, his full head of hair had returned.

He tried again. A Wish Bubble descended, popped the moment it touched the water, and merged into the spring.

Meanwhile, thick, dark hair began to sprout on the head of the programmer who was working late, but he remained completely oblivious, focused on debugging his code.

The third: A patient with a herniated disc wished for a healthy spine.

The fourth: A nearsighted girl wished she could see clearly again.

The fifth: A patient sweating profusely from acute gastroenteritis wished for a healthy digestive system.

The sixth, the seventh, the eighth…

One by one, the wishes were granted.

The Wishing Spring Water seemed to increase by a minuscule amount.

Zhou Chen’s spirits lifted. He muttered to himself, “So I can grant wishes remotely now. And after they’re fulfilled, the Wish Bubbles merge into the pool. If this continues, maybe I can fill the pool up again.”

He ran a few more tests and found there were still some restrictions. For example, he could easily grant wishes related to curing physical ailments, but he couldn’t grant wishes that involved luck, like winning a five-million-dollar lottery, finding money on the street, or having freebies fall from the sky. There were still more scenarios to test.

Of course, if he made a wish for himself, he *could* grant one involving luck. However, if the scope of the wish was too great, it would require a vast amount of Star Dust, and it wouldn’t come true if he didn’t have enough.

’Wishes come in different types, and the amount of Power of Wishes required varies. I’ll have to judge that for myself. The ideal situation is to use the least amount of Power of Wishes to grant the biggest wish. That way, I can harvest even more Star Dust.’

Zhou Chen continued to play around with his new ability for nearly an hour, only leaving the Mysterious Space when his Spiritual Power was nearly depleted.

Back in the real world, he stared at the Star Dust in his Wish Bottle and fell into contemplation.

It seemed the Star Dust in the Wish Bottle would no longer flow into the Wishing Pool. He suspected that only after accumulating an amount of Star Dust as massive as what was needed for a “miracle” would the “floodgates open,” allowing the surplus to pour into the Wishing Pool.

Having figured out the basics of the Wish Bottle’s new ability, Zhou Chen took a nap to recover his energy. When he woke up, he saw Jiang Che sitting in the chair by his bed.

“Hermes and the King of Music were here?”