“Chirp chirp…”
Having been tamed by Amidina’s exquisite handiwork, Fatty Bird, full and satisfied, flew up to the balcony.
It spread its wings wide and lay along the railing, looking like it was about to burst from overeating.
Not wanting to disturb Amidina’s sleep, Lin Nuo went over and gently picked up Fatty Bird.
With a glance, he turned his attention to the Frost Soul Bow placed in the corner of the room, examining it with a slightly more serious gaze.
Everything that had happened so far had already shown that what he once thought wouldn’t alter the original storyline—such as raising a little bird or reading some risqué books—had actually triggered subtle chain reactions, causing the known events to shift in unexpected ways.
If the general direction of the original plot veered even slightly off course, his sense of security would drop drastically.
The crisis brought on by those three from the Angekesai family was resolved perfectly only because the knowledge passed down from the chemistry teacher happened to be useful, combined with the overwhelming power of the family behind them, plus a pinch of luck.
Since it was clear he couldn’t remain completely passive when facing such a life-or-death situation again,
“Getting stronger” was firmly added to Lin Nuo’s plans.
But as he pondered this, he fell into deeper thought.
How could he efficiently increase his ability to protect himself?
There were many paths to becoming stronger in this world, the most common being the cultivation of magic power.
Those who specialized in projecting magic power through chanting, willpower, or written symbols were called Mages.
Mages unleashed elemental magic in various offensive forms according to their will, commonly referred to as magic skills.
Those who specialized in attaching magic power to weapons or their own bodies were called Martial Artists.
Martial Artists enhanced their physical capabilities to surpass their natural limits, employing various practical combat techniques known as combat skills.
Whether Mage or Martial Artist, they were collectively called Practitioners, ranked from first tier to third tier and beyond…
However, if one thought the world simply followed the old formula of leveling up by fighting monsters to get stronger, they’d be gravely mistaken.
Endless and diverse artifacts, Sacred Relics, and Magic Artifacts;
Divine selections bestowing godly blessings upon chosen ones;
All manner of curses and blessings; Divine magic that was distinct from combat or magic skills; all created infinite possibilities for reversals in magical combat.
Take Amidina’s innate Sublimation Ability, for example—she could effortlessly counter high-level Dead Spirits and Undead without casting a single spell.
She could even purify poisons that some Healing Mages found hopeless.
In the late stages, she could even resist the Evil God’s invasion of the mind.
Her Frost Soul Bow was one of the Sacred Relics capable of integrating various elements, helping her unleash countless elemental magic attacks.
Then there was the Red Dragon Yulilian’s Dragonfire, which was naturally several times stronger than high-level fire magic.
You might think the magic power you wield would easily overpower enemies, but who knows if your opponent’s deep blue magic points suddenly surge mid-battle?
A phrase like “Divine aid be with me,” and a summoned Archangel who has been blessed by the gods could appear at any moment, pulverizing you into a fine tofu with just bare hands…
Of course, magic itself carries no innate hierarchy; its effect depends on the skill of the Mage.
Like some who master the Transformation Art to perfection—no one would suspect a seemingly harmless little girl, but once fooled on the battlefield, when she drops her disguise, she wields power far greater than most men…
There were many magical elements to learn, but for most, after refining their magic power to a certain level, the simplest way to breakthrough was to specialize in one element that was most familiar and harmonious with themselves, like Parkes’s enthusiasm for swordsmanship or Amidina’s proficiency in water magic over other types.
Every master had their own strengths.
Speaking of which, Lin Nuo couldn’t help but mention Feng Aotian.
Her ridiculous, overpowered all-round talents!
Throughout her adventures with Amidina, divine blessings appeared at her fingertips, and an endless supply of Sacred Relics somehow landed in her hands.
Her luck was unparalleled, truly unheard of.
This was why Lin Nuo hadn’t initially intended to grow stronger in response to her.
Suitable weapons and faith could indeed make the path to power more efficient, but Lin Nuo never imagined he could find a Sacred Relic suited to him.
As for Divine Artifacts, forget it—only a few even appeared in the original storyline.
He had already learned early on that the best path for him was to cultivate magic.
The type of magic had also been determined:
—Healing.
After all, Lin Nuo’s goal wasn’t simply to become invincible.
Among countless types of combat, defense, and assassin magics, healing magic was extremely rare.
Those who mastered it were even fewer.
Under these circumstances, the rarity and irreplaceability of a Healing Practitioner would allow him to latch onto another’s strengths even after leaving Claremont Manor, giving him some confidence when facing Feng Aotian.
If he could be like Ruding, who worshipped the Healing Angel, unable to be killed even with two legs and one arm broken, that would be perfect.
However, even with Amidina’s Sublimation Ability, when she used ordinary healing magic, she still had to draw a magic array to alleviate the negative effects of rigid magic.
And the poison inside her body, of an unclear type, could take days to detect, even by Clemence’s family apothecaries.
All this clearly indicated
Healing magic was far beyond the grasp of a lowly, yellow-haired villain like Lin Nuo.
Yet, the thought of learning “healing magic” again—once extinguished—suddenly resurfaced in his mind and brought to him a neglected memory.
He recalled…
Seeing a magic array somewhere—depicted on a certain item—associated with healing magic…
Healing magic skills were rare; if he had seen it before, he surely would have noticed.
But where exactly had he seen it?
Suddenly, his fingers, unconsciously tapping Fatty Bird’s belly, froze.
He remembered.
It was in that magic book.
Lin Nuo quickly scanned the room, patting his clothes up and down.
That’s when he realized something incredible—
The magic book was gone!
After pondering deeply, an even more puzzling fact tightened Lin Nuo’s brow.
Amidina said that apart from the title “Natural Magic” on the front page, the rest of her Sacred Relic was blank.
But what he had seen…
Clearly, there was a page depicting a goddess angel figure with healing Sanskrit as the background.
Amidina wouldn’t joke about something like that.
So…
‘Was that angel image visible only to me?’
Lin Nuo recalled when he pulled out the magic book, the starry magic array on the cover seemed to faintly pulse with magic.
He had always assumed the book resonated because its true owner, Amidina, held it…
‘Could it be not because of Amidina, but because of me?’
…Why?
‘If it reacted to me, I should have noticed as soon as I touched the book.’
Lin Nuo rapidly thought about what had changed about himself in the past few days, and discovered the only chance for him to form a connection with the magic book was because…
‘I’m poisoned!’
Thinking about the possibility of magical items like Sacred Relics or Magic Artifacts recognizing their owner, Lin Nuo rubbed his chest with the hand that wasn’t holding Fatty Bird.
Sure enough, he felt a subtle, delicate connection forming.
‘…Recognizing me as its master?’
‘The book was actually inside me?!’
His consciousness drifted, as if the bright room instantly dissolved into a void.
He could see a gentle, familiar magic power intimately nourishing his body.
He even felt his internal organs wrapped and nurtured by an ice-blue magic array, applied at some unknown time.
As if sensing an external magical intrusion, even a faint probing of his body’s interior made another violent and dangerous black aura—intent on eroding his blood vessels, skin, and organs—rage and violently lash against the ice-blue magic array imprisoning it.
Hiss…!
Agony!
The exact same excruciating pain as when he had spewed corrupted blood in the Misty Forest!!
His organs felt as if they were being devoured by swarms of ants; all his strength was drained and then crushed by a cold, icy prison of stabbing pain…
Meanwhile, Amidina, holding tightly to Lin Nuo’s shirt with her eyes closed, seemed to unconsciously mobilize her magic power in response.
Her brows furrowed painfully just like his, her complexion instantly shifting from rosy to pale and weak, cold sweat breaking out…
The ice-blue magic array inside Lin Nuo’s body seemed to absorb even more magic power from its source, continuously purifying and transforming the raging black aura.
That ice-blue magic array and its magic power were like a towering wall protecting his body.
But still struggling against another black aura…
The cracks in the ice-blue magic array grew fragile and more painful under constant transformation…
His body suddenly heated up, burning hot…
Lin Nuo could barely lift his eyelids, which felt like they weighed a thousand pounds, unable even to cry out for help.
“Chirp chirp!”
Fatty Bird, who had been asleep in his palm, suddenly jumped up and flew to Lin Nuo’s shoulder, fanning his burning hot face with its wings, as if asking why this person suddenly turned so limp?
His consciousness sank into oblivion.
The pain and dizziness brought on by surging blood made Lin Nuo’s lips bleed slightly.
More cracks spread across the ice-blue magic array.
The swirling black aura seemed poised to shatter the magic array, mercilessly corroding his entire body.
On the balcony’s wooden table, Amidina’s brows knitted tightly.
Her magic power appeared linked to that fragile magic array, her expression growing increasingly pained…
Just as the Sublimation Ability struggled to withstand the encroaching black aura and the magic array neared shattering—
A starry magic array suddenly appeared in Lin Nuo’s consciousness.
It was that Natural Magic Book!
As if thinking for itself, it flipped to the first page.
The holy angel depicted there wielded a magic staff that cast healing Sanskrit, repairing the cracks in the magic array.
A faint divine light suppressed the black aura that was about to corrode him…
Amidina seemed to benefit from the healing as well; her pale lips gradually regained color as she remained immersed in a dream scented with that person’s presence.
“Chirp chirp?”
Fatty Bird flew up and fanned the feverish Lin Nuo’s smoking head for a long while.
When he finally opened his eyes, as if escaping a terrible nightmare, Fatty Bird collapsed onto the table with a startled expression as if it had almost died of fright.
Lin Nuo raised his hand to wipe his mouth, indeed feeling the bloodstains there…
That black aura was the poison from Silver Tears Lake flaring up!
The poison wasn’t gone; It seemed only barely restrained by the ice-blue magic array imbued with Amidina’s aura, and the instant it flared, Lin Nuo had felt a fatal threat.
Gasping heavily, he examined his seemingly unchanged body.
That white light which had just appeared inside him and suppressed the black aura—
Was it…
Healing magic?