Chapter 45 Adventurer
At this moment, Lakdevo was stunned.
According to this explanation, conflict between extraordinary powers? It simply didn’t exist!
The two forces hadn’t merged at all but remained completely separate—so how could there be any conflict?
But then, how could a gap be created between two extraordinary forces?
“Gah!”
“Is it something similar to a blessing?” Lakdevo asked his question.
“Yes.”
Sylvia nodded.
“Only in this way can I intervene in their Spiritual Star and help them artificially separate the extraordinary powers.”
“If we want the gap to form naturally, I don’t think we can achieve that right now.”
“In that case, this new, or rather, supposedly new extraordinary path will become extremely unique—”
“Without my help, no one could walk this path.”
“But it’s not a big issue. I don’t currently intend to widely spread the ‘Sinner’ path.”
“However, there are still many problems:”
“First of all, when extraordinary power converges with spirituality, it forms an extraordinary trait. But if I intervene and separate the extraordinary power belonging to sin from another complete basic path’s extraordinary power, then the sinful extraordinary power must be kept separate from the Spiritual Star.”
“After all, extraordinary power can be cut and separated, but the Spiritual Star cannot.”
“Of course, even so, the convergence force produced and solidified through ritual—originating from the Spiritual Star—still exists. The power of sin will still be absorbed by this convergence force. Although not strong, it should barely be able to establish a state of attachment to the Spiritual Star.”
“Hmm… here comes the first question:”
“When an extraordinary individual uses extraordinary power, the Spiritual Star will resonate accordingly, resulting in a certain degree of fluctuation and change. Over time, would the power of sin, which survives solely on this relatively weak convergence force, dissipate?”
“If it does dissipate, can those extraordinary individuals still be considered ‘Sinners’? And would they possibly mutate as a result—”
“Even if the separation was established through my intervention, the power of sin and the original extraordinary power would still form a subtle balance. If that balance is broken, an excessive convergence force might produce unexpected changes.”
“Then, the second problem would immediately follow:”
“According to the design of the Parasite Path, the power of sin is supposed to absorb and convert the basic path’s power, eventually completing a replacement.”
“But how could the sinful extraordinary power, across a separation, absorb the original extraordinary power?”
"Not only that, if it were to be implemented in practice, there would be even more troubles and unexpected issues."
As she spoke, Sylvia's tapping on the table grew noticeably heavier.
"Of course, those matters can be considered later."
"After all, we still have time."
Leaning back in her chair, Sylvia shifted to a more relaxed tone, prompting Lakdevo to nod.
"I'm sorry, Your Grace. With my experience and abilities, I can't offer you any effective suggestions."
"But even so, your wisdom is something I could never hope to match."
At that moment, he wasn’t trying to flatter her deliberately.
Even if Sylvia's line of thought wasn’t entirely mature, it still shocked this Apostle who had lived for centuries, making him feel, “Damn, you can even do that?”
Hearing the compliment, Sylvia merely sighed inwardly.
If the conditions allowed, who would willingly choose such a shortcut?
Pushing aside the unnecessary thoughts, Sylvia gathered her words and spoke:
"Alright, let’s change the topic, shift our perspective, and relax a bit:"
"In my preliminary plan, each person would grasp only one of the Seven Deadly Sins—"
"This is the most stable choice, since without sufficient positional suppression, conflict could arise between sins as well."
"The parasitic mode for each path will require different handling, but we don’t need to deal with all that for now."
"Hmm… we only need to establish three for now: Loruze, Divoman, and little Isabella."
"Loruze will correspond to Greed, Isabella to Pride."
"As for Divoman..."
Sylvia fell silent for a moment, beginning to think about a suitable option for him.
Pride or Wrath both seemed like good fits?
Absolute power and endless expansion?
Hmm… in that case, she decided to make a comprehensive decision for him.
After a brief hesitation, Sylvia finally chose the Sin of Pride for him.
As one of the initial test subjects, the data gathered from him would also serve as reference in designing Isabella’s extraordinary path.
After all, the girl harbored her divinity within, and Sylvia was quite fond of her, planning to raise her as a "Divine Attendant".
So, what should be chosen as the foundational path for Divoman?
Thinking of this, she turned her head and glanced at Lakdevo:
"What do you think would be the most suitable extraordinary path to serve as Divoman’s foundation?"
The fat crow perched on the chair back pondered briefly, then spoke:
"Master, while considering suitability, we must also consider the completeness of the chain, or his future advancement will be problematic."
"I have three complete extraordinary paths here: Deathbringer, Priest of the End, and Warlock."
"They all lean toward caster types, but that Divoman clearly isn’t suited to them—"
"After all, he looks to be in his thirties and still can’t read, which suggests his learning ability might be poor."
"As for the four extraordinary paths controlled by the Church of Radiance, you can obtain them through Loruze and use them as alternatives."
"Let me think, they are the Purist, the Messenger, the Radiant Knight, and the Pure-White Priest."
"Among them, the Radiant Knight—being a profession with combat capabilities and not requiring the study of extensive extraordinary knowledge—is more suitable for him."
Sylvia nodded, then rubbed her chin.
"Any other recommendations? Something combat-oriented, preferably something that doesn't require the brain. It doesn't have to be complete—we can collect the rest later."
"Gah!"
"Let me think..."
"Warrior. That’s the extraordinary path that best meets your requirements."
"This path emphasizes explosive strength, bodily control, and powerful, resilient vitality."
"Indeed."
Sylvia responded in agreement, then asked:
"Which faction holds this path?"
"The War Church in the north and the Church of the Earth Mother on the New Continent."
"However, this extraordinary path was quite widespread. A few hundred years ago, it was highly sought after by adventurers."
"As a result, many adventurer groups also hold the related rituals."
"For example, the Southern Cross Constellation, which was once the most famous group in the west of the Old Continent."
Upon hearing the answer, Sylvia nodded, then asked with some doubt:
"Can adventurer groups really possess complete extraordinary chains?"
"The official churches allow that?"
To this, Lakdevo let out a short laugh and explained:
"Of course they allow it."
"Back then, to resolve the problems left behind by the collapse of the Koinsprache Empire, the newly formed major churches borrowed the strength of the adventurers."
"Also, in the exploration of the New Continent, adventurers played a significant role."
"Therefore, the associations and groups they formed were officially recognized."
"Unfortunately, with the progress of industrialization, adventurers have gradually declined."
"Now, the only spaces left for them to play a role are the primeval forests of the New Continent, the vast oceans, and the still-sealed Old Continent."
"The sealed Old Continent?"
Hearing another new term, Sylvia’s interest was immediately piqued.
"Yes."
Lakdevo nodded.
"Of course, even I have never seen that continent—"
"It’s merely a legend:"
"It’s said that during the final days of the ancient era, a divine war broke out, causing a continent to 'sink' as a result."
"This 'sinking' didn’t mean submerging into the sea, but rather sinking into the Manifest Realm, thereby becoming sealed and isolated from reality."
"Of course, it’s all just legend. Even we Apostles can’t confirm whether it’s true or not."
"However, from various divine revelations over the ages and clues scattered through ancient texts, we can vaguely infer that in the ancient era, our world had more than two continents."
"Based on our speculation, if that continent truly exists, then it would surely be inhabited by numerous extraordinary races and countless border demons."
As she listened, Sylvia couldn't help but grow curious about the mysterious Old Continent. She then recalled a word Sylvia had used when introducing those war golems earlier—
Exploration.
Then she asked curiously:
"Were those war golems of the Church of Machinery originally used to explore the Old Continent?"
"Yes."
Lakdevo nodded.
"At the time, there were reports suggesting that the Church of Machinery had caught wind of something."
"Unfortunately, the outbreak of war forced them to abandon those plans, and they’ve remained shelved ever since."
"But that, in a way, seems to support the authenticity of the Old Continent’s existence."
The puppet girl tapped the table with her finger, pulling the conversation back on track:
"So, if we want to obtain a complete chain of the Warrior path, we’d need to find those adventurer groups—like the Southern Cross Constellation, right?"
Before the words had even faded, Sylvia suddenly had a puzzled thought:
Southern Cross Constellation? Why does that name sound a bit familiar?