Chapter 177: Spiritual Desire Symbiosis · Source Essence Synchronization

Fortunately, Lance reacted quickly enough and merely got blown across the ground several times by the explosion’s aftershock, without suffering severe burns.

Just as he lay upon the ground, already convinced that he was definitely doomed tonight—

He looked upward.

Only to discover that the Elven female mage had absolutely no intention of continuing the attack.

Blushing furiously, Syl scrambled up from the ground in panic, completely ignoring Lance as she rushed toward the stone slab and scooped up the still-dizzy Cecilia in one motion.

Accompanied by an intense burst of light—

An unknown spatial teleportation spell activated, and the two women instantly vanished from the spot, leaving behind only lingering Aether fluctuations in the air.

The battle ended.

Lance slowly withdrew from Dragon Form.

Sitting within the charred courtyard, he looked at the house behind him that had already transformed into a sea of flames, and a bitter smile involuntarily appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He never could have imagined—

That what originally was meant to be a quiet birthday celebration for Cecilia would ultimately escalate into such a massive disaster.

Well, this was great now. Not only was his house gone, but by tomorrow morning he would probably have to pay an enormous fine as well.

However, after calming down and carefully recalling the earlier clash—

Lance actually realized that Cecilia’s aunt never truly intended to harm him from beginning to end.

Whether it was the initial restraint spell that slammed him against the wall, or the Explosive Fireball that ultimately destroyed the house—

She had deliberately avoided targeting any of his vital points during every attack.

Otherwise, considering the terrifying strength gap of at least two or three major realms above him—

That Third-Ring Explosive Fireball alone probably could have tracked him like a guided missile for miles and blown him into a pile of cooked flesh.

She was probably just venting her anger. Weren’t Elves supposed to live extremely long lives? Yet despite being so old, she still had a bit of childish temper??

Back when he was in Dragon Form—

Seeing Cecilia’s condition had made him angry.

His body had been completely overtaken by instinct, leaving him focused solely upon retaliation without considering the consequences at all.

This was probably the price of impulsiveness.

However, this farce had not been entirely without gains.

At the very least, he had verified one extremely important piece of information through this practical battle.

The research trait obtained from Half-Elves could also produce partial effects upon Pure-Blood Elves.

Although he could clearly feel that Syl’s reaction after inhaling the steam was nowhere near as exaggerated as Cecilia’s first exposure—

That interference effect powerful enough to interrupt a high-level mage’s spellcasting had already far exceeded his expectations.

This could be considered discovering a hidden trump card against special races.

Leaning against the remaining stone wall, Lance’s thoughts moved slightly as he summoned the system panel.

【Demi-Human Race · Elves】

【Current Research Progress: LV 1 (18/50)】

As expected.

The Pure-Blood Elf race had also successfully been added to the Biological Research panel list.

But what made Lance feel somewhat strange was the displayed research progress threshold afterward.

It was obviously much higher than the experience required for Half-Elves to reach Level 2 previously.

He wondered what hidden pattern existed within that.

Could it perhaps be related to the reproduction population of this race within this world?

Lance shook his head and tossed these baseless guesses from his mind.

Under the illumination of the soaring flames—

He could already hear chaotic footsteps and the alarmed cries of townsfolk outside the courtyard. It seemed the town patrol guards and firefighting team were rushing over.

Cecilia had probably already been brought directly back to White Oak Manor by her aunt, and might even return to White River City overnight.

Fortunately, Lance had possessed enough foresight to leave behind a mailing address in White River City long ago.

No matter what—

After tonight’s unforgettable birthday filled with twists and turns, the relationship between himself and Cecilia had officially advanced to an entirely new level.

The greatest challenge moving forward—

Would be figuring out how to somehow make Cecilia and Nia, these two girls with completely different personalities, peacefully coexist.

As expected, merely imagining a situation on the level of a full-scale romantic battlefield already made his head hurt.

However, the prerequisite for dealing with all trouble was always becoming sufficiently strong oneself.

To avoid a tragic future ending involving blades and bloodshed, striving to increase his strength could never be wrong.

Thinking about increasing strength—

He suddenly recalled what happened earlier inside the house.

After kissing Cecilia, the Half-Elf Biological Research seemed to have directly broken through its level.

At the time, the system notification had granted him a very peculiar new trait.

This also seemed to be the first time he had ever seen a unique trait directly tagged with a specific person’s name within the panel’s research system.

But recalling the name of that trait still made Lance feel somewhat uneasy.

【Spiritual Desire Symbiosis · Source Essence Synchronization】

Why did this name sound so overwhelmingly adult-themed?

With nervousness in his heart, Lance opened the detailed description of the trait.

Several seconds later—

After reading the explanation, Lance suddenly sucked in a cold breath.

The reason he was shocked was not because the trait was perverse or obscene.

It was because the effects of this trait were simply far too powerful—so powerful they felt almost unreal.

【Spiritual Desire Symbiosis · Source Essence Synchronization (Cecilia · Rosenthal)】

【Effect: Soul Wear Compensation】

【Analysis: Deep within this individual’s soul lies the embryonic form of the Legendary Talent “Magic Tree.” This talent possesses extremely powerful stability and rule accommodation capabilities.】

【When you choose to Class Advance into additional Secondary Classes in the future, you no longer need to worry about the “Soul Wear” caused by conflicting class rules within your body like ordinary professionals do.】

【This individual’s talent will perfectly share the Soul Wear penalty of one additional class for you.】

【The rules of your Secondary Class will exist in the form of void “grafting,” producing illusory fruit upon the branches of the Magic Tree within the other party’s soul.】

【The Magic Tree will completely digest all negative wear on your behalf.】

【Special Annotation: Because the Magic Tree possesses extraordinarily powerful compatibility, this rule-sharing not only causes no substantial harm whatsoever to the bonded individual. On the contrary, the tiny rule fragments dispersed during the growth and advancement of your Secondary Class will instead become exceptional nourishment for promoting the Magic Tree’s evolution toward a Legendary-rank Talent. Mutual benefit. Shared growth.】

“Holy shit…”

Lance could not stop himself. This was absolutely the most powerful trait he had obtained from this cheat panel since transmigrating into this world. Without question.

This effect alone could already be described as heaven-defying.

Previously, he had secretly worried in his heart—

That after advancing into 【Pale Sentinel】 and 【Fate Jester】, if he still wished to pursue life-oriented professions such as Potion Crafting or Blacksmithing, the penalties from Soul Wear would severely drag down the advancement speed of his Main Class.

But now—

With this Soul Wear Compensation trait—

He could completely advance into an additional powerful money-making Secondary Class without any concern whatsoever about slowing down the progression speed of his Main Class!

Upon this continent—

The value of anything capable of even slightly alleviating Soul Wear was self-evident.

Any single one could spark bloody conflict and become a peerless treasure directly associated with legends.

For example, the famous Curious Object of Fire Theft from history: 【Fool’s Scapegoat Parchment】.

Several hundred years ago, an Imperial Chancellor relied precisely upon the protection of that curious object.

He forcibly mastered three completely different and mutually conflicting professions simultaneously: 【Schemer】, 【Assassin】, and 【Court Mage】.

Ultimately, he successfully usurped the throne and became the infamous iron-blooded tyrant recorded in human history.

At the time, people racked their brains trying to understand how he accomplished it.

Until more than fifty years later—

That tyrant’s grandson accidentally tore apart the ancient parchment.

Having lost the suppression provided by the curious object—

The tyrant instantly suffered backlash from the three violent class rules and transformed into a puddle of foul-smelling sludge atop the throne before countless witnesses.

Only then did the secret hidden for half a century become known to the world.

Aside from such extraordinarily dangerous curious objects—

There also existed 【Dream of Rest】 from the Frost Plains, the Elven race’s 【Dawn Dew】, the Siren Kingdom’s 【Soul-Calming Shell】, and the supreme treasure of the legendary alchemical holy land tied to Legacy and Legends: 【Azoth Elixir】.

Every single one of them possessed a magnificent page in history all on its own.

That alone demonstrated just how precious anything capable of alleviating Soul Wear truly was.