Even after half a minute of releasing the Miracle of Sleeping with the Coat, Ash noticed that the two female mages in his arms showed no signs of waking up. He could only gently pat their cheeks and say, "Wake up, it’s time to get up for work."
Sonia reluctantly opened her eyes, and when she saw the witch still pretending to sleep, she closed her eyes again and held Ash even tighter.
These days, they had been exploring the Ghost Inheritance, and the underground hall was so open that Sonia couldn’t find an opportunity to develop an underground relationship with Ash. She hadn’t absorbed Observer Energy for days, and even during sword practice in the daytime, she felt a bit distracted. Now that she had found a chance, of course, she wanted to absorb more.
"Hey, Weiser is still here!"
"Oh, don’t mind me." Weiser said calmly, "I was just planning to re-read the ’Ghost Manual.’ I can at least go through it for 30 minutes, take your time. Do you need me to wear earplugs?"
Diya, being an Empress, ultimately had a thinner skin. Hearing Weiser say that, she blushed and opened her eyes. But Sonia, having a thick skin, continued to hold Ash tight.
Ash was amused by them. He reached out to rub the witch’s head, then wrapped his arms around the Sword Maiden’s waist — as a Body Technique Master, the Sword Maiden’s waist was unexpectedly slender, although this affected her maximum power output, Ash certainly didn’t mind — tightly embracing her with an elastic and excellent tactile feel. But Ash just gently hugged, whispering in her ear, "Are you satisfied now?"
Sonia opened her eyes, feigned disdain with a snort, but couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from curling upward, her ruby eyes gently swirling glances at Ash, with a hint of alluring charm between her brows.
In Ash’s mind, even if the Mirror of Flowers could change him into the Sword Maiden’s form, it would be exceedingly difficult for him to display one-tenth of the Sword Maiden’s beauty.
However, Sonia quickly tidied up her emotions and voluntarily said, "Weiser, sorry about that."
Weiser knowing was one thing, but showing affection in front of her was another. Besides, they were currently in the Ghost Inheritance, where dangers could arise at any moment. Sonia, now calm, also felt she had been somewhat irrational.
"You don’t need to apologize." Weiser closed the Ghost Manual, speaking indifferently, "I can understand."
The rewards for the 34th level were "Restore Soul," "Temporary Technique Spirit: Wandering Soul," and "Medium Soul Experience." The first one was generally not chosen, the Wandering Soul technique spirit increased mobility, granting drifting abilities, suitable for both the Sword Maiden and the witch.
After a brief discussion, they still had Weiser choose "Medium Soul Experience."
Starting from the 34th level’s "Dreamlike Soul," it’s clear that the deeper they go, the higher the soul faction realm requirements of mages for the Ghost Inheritance.
Actually, Dreamlike Soul doesn’t necessarily require a Soul Refining technique spirit to crack it. If the mage’s soul faction realm is high enough, choosing War Soul, Sword Soul, Evil Soul, these technique spirits should enable them to transform their soul to counter Dreamlike Soul. For example, the Sword Soul technique spirit inherently has the effect of honing the soul into sharpness, but the Sword Maiden’s realm is insufficient to profoundly transform her soul.
The challenges will only get more difficult, necessitating the cultivation of a mage with a high soul realm. Otherwise, not only might they fail to clear the levels, but they could inadvertently perish in the inheritance trial. As Weiser, being a Truth Mage proficient in over twenty types of magic, naturally becomes the most suitable candidate for cultivation, since none of them had an overt Soul Talent.
Reaching the 35th level, Ash and the others couldn’t help but raise their spirits.
In the Ghost Inheritance, every fifth and tenth level rewards are much richer. For example, the ’Ghost Key’ only emerged at the twentieth level, but simultaneously, the difficulty greatly increased, posing a risk of severely hurting one’s soul.
At this moment, the walls of the hall were suddenly covered by a layer of white boards. After waiting for a few seconds without noticing other movements, Ash leaned forward to take a look — this was obviously a situation where the shield bearer needed to play his part.
Upon approaching the white board, his Initial Soul technique spirit suddenly emerged, constructing a peculiar scene in his mind: on a sunlit field outside, Igula donned a fisherman’s hat, fishing by the shore, Harvey opened the coffin for Alice to bask in the sun, Liss ran on the grass flying a kite, Hanna pushed a baby stroller with little Banjee inside, curiously watching the kite. He just finished pitching the tent, Sword Maiden and witch downstream catching fish with bare feet, Weiser reading on a stump, Black Crow gestured for everyone to join the barbecue...
So this is it, the 35th level’s test was actually painting. Without any pens provided, it’s clear they must use their soul to create art, and whether they pass depends on how well they draw.
But how is this fair to me, why do I have so many characters to paint? Others must not need to paint something so complex, right!?
Ash muttered dissatisfaction, and as he lowered his head, found other anomalies — why did the ground feel so close?
Ash looked at his two soft little hands, then glanced at his completely shrunken body, finally understanding what happened — he had turned into a child!
Are you kidding me, Ghost Inheritance increased the difficulty ? Turning their bodies into children? Such a boring test, although my body became smaller, my mind remains agile!
Looking around, sure enough, the Sword Maiden, witch, and Weiser had all turned into children!
The Sword Maiden also bore a confused expression, and Ash couldn’t resist reaching out to pinch her cheek, giggling, "You look adorable now—"
Ash was punched and sent flying, and before he could get up, the little Sword Maiden climbed atop him, starting to punch his face repeatedly!
"What!? I was wrong, I was wrong! You don’t have to be so mad!"
Upon hearing his apology, the little Sword Maiden stopped, grabbing Ash’s collar, lifting his head, and saying fiercely, "Dare you bully me again!?"
"Huh?" Ash was bewildered.
The little Sword Maiden hit him again, dragon roaring, "Dare you!?"
"No, I don’t dare." Though unsure of what’s happening, Ash decided to comply with the little Sword Maiden’s words.
Yet when the little Sword Maiden surveyed the surroundings, once again she grabbed Ash’s collar, glaring coldly, "Where is this place? Are you playing a prank on me!?"
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Little Weiser suddenly started rubbing her eyes, crying out heart-wrenchingly, "Vione, Vione! Boohoo, Vione, where are you—"
At this moment, the little witch came over, holding back the little Sword Maiden, calmly advising, "This probably isn’t his fault, we four might have encountered a special situation, like protagonists in fairy tales stumbling upon an extraordinary event, that’s how we ended up here."
Ash stared blankly at this scene.
He finally realized the true difficulty of the 35th level.
The Ghost Prophet already mentioned in the ’Ghost Manual’ that he saw Spirit Mage use a Miracle capable of regressing individuals to childhood, effective for both offense and healing. But he believed it was superficial, as a child’s soul construction is different from an adult’s. The main distinction is the talent plasticity in children; if returning completely to childhood were possible, new talents could be developed!
However, the Ghost Prophet who arrived at Ruby Mountain hadn’t created the Miracle to fully regress to childhood, simply naming the idea "Return to Childhood."
Thus, not only did the Sword Maiden and others have their souls shrink, but their memories and consciousness also reverted to their childhood!