Becoming a Reincarnated Angel out of the blue, with irrefutable evidence, Wayne nearly believed it himself.
He knew he wasn’t, so...
He acted as if nothing had happened.
He ate when it was time to eat, slept when it was time to sleep, starting each day full of energy, pouring his limited time into endless study.
Having just entered the Silver Cross, Wayne was a blank slate, a phase where learning efficiency was at its highest.
At this time, he was like a sponge, desperately in need of nutrients, able to absorb anything and possessing extreme enthusiasm for learning.
Wayne craved knowledge.
While others found their studies tedious, Wayne found the process joyful. His close combat training was complemented by Veronica, his swordsmanship by Valkyrie and Vili, and for theoretical knowledge, he had one-on-one tutoring with Chris.
He could even increase his rapport while learning, doubling the joy.
Even meditation, the most time-consuming practice, was made visible by the constant supply of power from the four rings, settling accounts daily, and maintaining a high fighting spirit every moment.
During this time, he took a trip to Jianhe County, completed his visit, and then detoured near Silent Ridge to unlock the Sealing Book, fiercely absorbing its contents.
The Sealing Book provided by the Devil had its merits, towering two or three stories higher than the treasures stored in St. Paul Cathedral. After Wayne opened the Sealing Book, he could only plunder the Four Elements; he couldn’t obtain the Divine Power of storm and lightning.
To gain these two types of Divine Power, one must release the Obelisk Stone Tablet completely, revealing its true form.
That process was too risky. Wayne wouldn’t consider it for the time being. Divine Power and such could be put aside for now. The pressing matter was to find a place for his people to live.
There was more than one stone tablet, who knew if other holders would traffic his people. With a finite population, if they were all taken by others, Wayne would be left with no one to take.
Therefore, relocating his people was the top priority.
Due to the aforementioned reasons, Wayne called Dean Plank and retrieved the Ancient Silver Coins from him.
The four rings could be set aside; they were his private property, sacred and inviolable, safe from plunder by others.
The Grey Space connected by the Ancient Silver Coins was different. Wayne had seen identical coins in Austin’s possession, and thus inferred that others in the Liberty Mage Alliance might also have them.
The cake was only so big; if he didn’t take it, others would, and if he didn’t take it now, there would be nothing left to take later.
Wayne felt an indescribable pain at the thought of his wealth being arbitrarily divided by outsiders.
These were his Ancient Silver Coins, merely lent out for temporary safekeeping, and the Liberty Mage Alliance acted as if it owned them, without a clue.
When Dean Plank returned the Ancient Silver Coins, he chuckled and asked a few questions. He wasn’t surprised by Wayne’s rapid progress, as it was natural for one with the Protogenos Bloodline of the original forebears to advance swiftly.
He was curious about which beliefs Wayne had chosen and was eager to help.
Dean Plank seemed to have seen through Wayne, certain that his choice of ’gods’ would be extensive and not limited to the three Goddesses of the Life Alliance.
Everyone is greedy, and Mages even more so.
Dean Plank personally presented a Dark Ring, believing Wayne, having tasted the sweetness, would be unable to stop and his choice of gods would surely include the Dark Goddess.
Lack of knowledge was no problem; he was there to provide, ensuring that Wayne could smoothly get through the Silver Stage.
Once he reached the Golden Stage...
Heh, Red Leaf Forest Asylum was still looking for a chief psychiatrist!
There is no such thing as love without reason. The old coot was far too generous without cause, certainly with his own calculations. Wayne could not figure it out for the moment and didn’t directly respond, only mentioning that he would have to consider the Dark faith a bit more.
After advancing to the Silver Stage, Wayne’s intellect grew even stronger. With his evolution, The Book of Greed’s appetite also grew larger.
The eyes on the corners of the cover were like bottomless pits, never satisfied. During meditation, more tentacles reached out, plundering faster with an insatiable thirst for the Four Elements.
Wayne no longer considered ’greed’ a pejorative term; it was ambition, akin to the wise practice of backing off when things were going well, a word of praise in his view.
It was precisely because of The Book of Greed’s greediness that his intake efficiency was guaranteed, with the Essence of Life increasing by 3% every day, far exceeding his earlier Hexagram Stage.
While it seemed fast, in reality, it wasn’t. This 3% of the Essence of Life applied only to natural beliefs, and once expanded to the five Goddesses, the increase was less noticeable.
"Take it slow; at least I’m not lacking resources right now."
Wayne immersed himself in the joyful atmosphere of studying, rarely visiting the Detective Agency anymore.
Without Wayne going to the Detective Agency, Mona took it upon herself to visit regularly, every evening at dinner time, trying to make Wayne accustomed to her presence and seamlessly integrating into the family.
In her words, it was only natural for the host to provide meals!
Smart women are different; with whatever magic she used, she quickly dissolved Vili’s hostility, every day endearingly addressing her as ’sister,’ and if one didn’t know better, they might think they were long-time good friends.
Considering Vili was always offering things for free, appeasing her wasn’t much of an achievement.
Like Chris, who was always polite to Mona, never calling her by name—either Ms. Mona or Detective Mona. You would say she was distant, yet she always greeted people with a smile.
Chris: With the skirts of women outside getting shorter, Veronica is clueless, and Vili lacks wisdom. If I don’t take action, when Wayne is defeated and captured, they are sure to suffer greatly.
Veronica harbored a strong dislike for Mona, labeling her as a ’bad woman’ right from the first encounter.