Chapter 45: Upgraded Hand_l
Translator: 549690339
After the reopening of the Undead Temple, there have only been about two hundred people coming to worship regularly. As the hype faded, the amount of Soul Flame offerings began decreasing, sometimes only receiving one every few days.
Only the particularly devout, such as Oke, offered one or two each visit. Later on, Negris suggested to Ange that they grant Oke three pounds of food daily, allowing him to work half the day in the temple, guiding the believers.
In essence, it was Negris’ act of charity, providing food for a fanatic devotee’s needs. But the benefits were immense. Daily, Oke offered at least five Soul Flames. His individual contributions, dwarfed those of the casual believers.
Moreover, those guided by him were more inclined to offer their Soul Flames.
Nevertheless, the temple’s profits gradually decreased. On some days, they received over a hundred offerings; other days less than dozens. But Ange wasn’t bothered. All he needed was to transport food out. One Soul Flame allowed the transportation of five bags. He couldn’t even use up the daily harvest and had to transfer it into his leather bracelet.
It wasn’t until Lisa fled to Ice City that the number of Soul Flames began to increase. But it didn’t reach three hundred.
In other words, the sum of the Soul Flames Ange accumulated over three to four months is less than the surge he experienced today. Tens of thousands of
Soul Flames rushed towards him, being funneled into the bracelet, immediately causing it to burst. One after the other, runes lit up until the last one was activated.
Once all the runes lit up, the bracelet melted, merging directly with Angels bones.
Lisa and Feilin both noticed this situation, surprised that Ange’s bracelet was melting. That was the symbol of an Observer’s identity. Could it be that Lord Ange…had upgraded?
They weren’t sure and didn’t dare to ask, shifting their gaze away in silence. Ange stared blankly at his own hand, the sensation of the merged bracelet with his hand bone felt strange. His hand felt as if it could interact with the Temple of Rest at any moment.
Before, he had to concentrate on the object to transport it in or out of the Temple of Rest. He could transport things in or out but couldn’t move anything within it.
Now, with a simple thought, his hand could reach in and move anything in there. It was miraculous.
After pondering for a moment, Ange moved his hand toward the tower sealing
the Bronze Dragon and picked up the Bronze Book displayed on the podium.
There was a thud as something broke off.
The Little Copper Dragon, who was being energetically pestered by a group of children, suddenly collapsed.
Ange pulled the Bronze Book out forcefully.
Negris’ projection overlaid Ange. He watched the Bronze Book in Angel s hand with disbelief, murmuring, “This…this is the book that sealed me. Why is it so small?”
The Bronze Book lay closed in Angels hand. It was only palm-sized. Even when opened, it was the size of two palms – nowhere near the giant size Negris had been imagining.
“How did you take it out? Isn’t it sealed?” Negris asked, confused.
The Bronze Book sealed Negris, and the tower sealed the book. Ange could transport many things but couldn’t transport the Bronze Book.
Originally without any leads on how to proceed, the book being pulled out so suddenly left him dumbfounded.
“Just .” Ange put his hand down. His hand bone vanished abruptly up to his elbow, along with the Bronze Book and the projection of Negris.
Negris reappeared in Ange l s soul, but before he could say anything, Ange drew his hand out again. His arm and the Bronze Book reappeared, but Negris once again disappeared.
After another reappearing act, Negris hastily said, “Stop, stop, stop. I disappear every time you put me in, and when you take me out. In and out constantly I’ll keep disappearing. This is my real body. Have some respect.”
“Hold on, doesn’t it consume soul energy when you do this? How is it so easy?” Negris asked, puzzled.
Ange thought for a bit, then stretched out his hand again.
Then he pulled it out…
Ange tilted his head, “It seems to consume something.”
“You could have experimented with a few bags of grain instead of using me!” Negris roared.
Experimenting with a few bags of grain also consumed soul energy, even more than the Bronze Book. It’s just that the Bronze Book was too light.
This outcome let Negris down a bit, “If it didn’t consume soul energy, this would truly be a divine artifact, capable of altering the balance of power on the battlefield. You could store troops and provisions within it and deploy them suddenly in the face of the enemy. Or you could infiltrate deep into enemy territory before releasing everything. Who could stop you? What a shame.”
“If that’s all there is to it, what’s the point of the change? Just to take me out? That’s pointless: I’m afraid of being lost. Here, lend me some of your soul energy. Let’s input it into the book,” Negris suggested.
Ange channeled some soul energy into the Bronze Book, then realized that his bracelet was gone – it had fused with his hand. Could he draw soul energy from his hand bone?
Yes, but after transferring the equivalent of twenty Soul Crystals, his soul energy drained rapidly. He had been storing Soul Crystals in the bracelet all along, and from the opening of the temple to the wave of Soul Flames just now, the total was about twenty-five thousand. Now he only had twenty-something left? The change in his bracelet had consumed twenty-five thousand Soul Crystals?
Fortunately, the amount of twenty-odd Soul Crystals was sufficient. Negris conjured a ball of Soul Fire, which floated up from the Bronze Book and into the Little Copper Dragon, merging with its original soul.
The Little Copper Dragon shook its head and tail then opened its mouth to speak, “Now I can directly transfer consciousness, without projection. Put the book back in and see if I’ll disappear?
“The door was returned to the temple of Rest, and Negns didn’t disappear at all. This left him commenting, “The soul connection of you Undead is indeed more practical. Projection of consciousness is so unstable.”
Ange, not understanding what he was saying, wasn’t even listening. His shoulder was moving from side to side while his arm, up from the elbow, was reaching into the Temple of Rest. “What are you doing now?” Negris asked.
“Farming,” Ange replied.
“Farming?” How could he farm with his hand stuck in the Temple of Rest, Negris wondered.
Before he could ask further, he suddenly remembered. The seal on the tower had been removed, hadn’t it? So, didn’t that mean he was free to move around in the Temple of Rest?
With this thought, the Bronze Book inside the tower shot up into the air, left the tower, and started moving quickly within the Temple of Rest, soon arriving at the farm.
In the farm, a lone and wandering hand bone was floating about, clutching a hoe, digging ditches, picking up seeds to put inside, covering them with soil, watering…
“Kvada! You’ve upgraded to a hand that can traverse both worlds just to farm!”