The question of whether or not to undergo the ascension ceremony lingered in Buck''s mind like a cloud of fog. His brow furrowed as he sank into deep, prolonged thought.
After a long while, he finally gritted his teeth, as if making a fateful decision, and refocused all his attention on the scrolls spread out before him.
He knew he had to be brave and give it a try. On one hand, in order to purify the terrifying evil spirits, he urgently needed the powerful strength of the Goddess of the Sun; on the other hand, if he wanted to continue receiving Roland''s unwavering support, joining the order had become an unavoidable choice.
However, the three grafting ceremonies he had gone through in the past lingered in his mind like ghosts, making him feel uncertain. Could those ceremonies be considered ceremonies of the evil gods? Buck had studied some information about rituals, and in his view, if evil gods were truly behind the ceremonies, the result should be the malicious curses of the evil gods, not just some nauseating evil spirits.
Moreover, the panel that had abruptly appeared in his line of sight seemed, from every angle, to have nothing to do with the evil gods. Based on these observations, Buck felt he could boldly take a chance.
Just as he was agonizing over which of the eight ceremonies to choose, Olivia, who had been quietly sitting to the side, suddenly stood up as if driven by some invisible force. She walked lightly to the stone table, extended her slender, willow-like finger, and tapped one of the scrolls decisively.
Then, she threw a casual remark to the elderly Fernandez: "Fernandez, I have something to attend to. I''ll leave now," and without looking back, she walked straight out.
Buck, full of confusion, followed Olivia''s direction with his gaze. When he carefully examined the description of the ritual on the scroll, his eyes widened in astonishment. It turned out to be the "Goddess Blessing Ritual." At first glance, this seemed to be the most inconspicuous and useless path, but it contained an effect that could be considered game-changing for Buck.
The first-tier Goddess Blessing Ritual could instantly double the life energy of the participant and also grant the same amount of spiritual energy as the life energy. For an ordinary person, this might not mean much, but Buck already possessed over three hundred thousand life energy. The immense boost this could offer was too tempting for him to ignore.
Buck''s expression became strange, a mixture of surprise and disbelief. Slowly, he extended his finger toward the scroll, his voice trembling slightly as he said, "This one."
Fernandez nodded expressionlessly, but inwardly, he was filled with ripples of thought. Olivia was usually indifferent to everything, yet she had actively pointed out this ritual to this young man. Could there really be something extraordinary about him?
What had Olivia seen? Fernandez was filled with doubt. He knew he lacked Olivia''s ability to see through everything, but he was certain that he would soon discover the reason behind her actions.
Guided by Fernandez, Buck was led into a larger underground room. After waiting briefly, Fernandez had the materials required for the ritual delivered. The materials for the first-tier Goddess Blessing Ritual were not particularly rare; all that was needed was a flower that always grows toward the sun—"Heaven''s Flower," a vial of blessed holy water, and a jar of powder finely ground from Sunstones. Additionally, a vial of potion for altering a hunter''s blood, and Buck''s first ascension ritual was ready.
Buck took a deep breath to calm his nerves and, following the instructions, slowly knelt in front of the exquisitely carved statue of the goddess in the center of the room. He began to recite the incantations of the ritual with reverence.
In an instant, a warm, radiant light from the highest realm enveloped him like a tidal wave. The three ritual materials before him began to emit a soft glow within the circular Sun array, gradually merging into a brilliant ball of light as if drawn by an invisible hand.
At the same time, Buck was surprised to see a prompt panel suddenly pop up in his vision, displaying: [Ritual Power Detected. Do you wish to begin the Goddess Blessing Ritual? Warning: Current Success Rate: 30%.] "Success rate? Why is it only 30%?"
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Buck was shocked but quickly realized that this prompt panel could respond to other rituals as well! This was undoubtedly good news, as it proved that the ritual would not conflict with the mysterious power within him. But why was the success rate so low? He quickly focused all his attention on the light before him, and an indescribable feeling surged in his heart. The issue was with the ritual materials—they were clearly not of high enough quality!
However, there was no time to change this now. He had to take a leap of faith. Without hesitation, Buck chose to proceed with the ritual. The moment he made his decision, the ball of light before him exploded like ignited dynamite, and the intense glow instantly filled the entire room, turning it as bright as day.
The statue of the Goddess of the Sun gradually transformed into a golden illusion amidst the radiant light. The illusion resembled a pair of massive golden wings, which slowly unfolded in the light and then gently descended toward Buck below.
Fernandez, seeing this, couldn''t help but widen his eyes in astonishment. What he was witnessing indicated that the Goddess''s power had fully accepted Buck Frank. Not only that, but the "Messenger of the Goddess" summoned by Buck through the ritual was far more spectacular than any blessing ceremony Fernandez had ever seen. It even completely surpassed his imagination.
A colossal, trembling divine power surged through the golden wings, continuously pouring forth as if the statue had transformed into a gateway to the realm of the gods, with an endless torrent of power rushing out from behind that gate. This power quickly condensed into an extraordinary life force, surging like a tidal wave into Buck''s body, attempting to double his already overwhelming life energy.
However, fate seemed to play a cruel joke on Buck at this moment. [Warning! Ritual failed.] With the clear sound of an alert, Buck suddenly felt something light yet crucial shatter within the overwhelming flow of life energy.
He struggled to lift his head amidst the torrent of life energy, only to be astonished to find that the golden wings, which had symbolized the blessing, now had cracks forming within them. As the light grew more intense, the cracks became more apparent, and eventually, the wings shattered completely.
Fernandez, who was also stunned by the sight before him, could hardly believe his eyes. The manifestation of the Messenger had shattered! How could such a blasphemous event occur? But as he stood there, shocked and furious, he suddenly realized that the broken wings of light gently floated down and softly landed on Buck''s shoulder, as if tenderly comforting the failure of the ritual.
Not only did the Goddess not impose a terrible divine punishment, but it seemed as if she was offering comfort to Buck instead? This entire situation was so bizarre that Fernandez was momentarily at a loss.
Buck stared blankly at the fading light of the broken wings until they vanished. Then, feeling somewhat confused, he turned his head toward Fernandez and nervously asked, "Can I try again?"
Fernandez, equally unsure of what to do, blinked and hesitated for a moment before replying, "I suppose you can..."
Normally, when a ritual failed, there would be no second chance. But Buck was different; after all, he had some connections. More importantly, Fernandez now realized that the failure of Buck''s ritual wasn''t due to the Goddess rejecting him, but rather a problem with the conduit of divine power.
Clearly, the issue lay with the ritual materials, which made Fernandez feel somewhat embarrassed, his face turning slightly red.
After Buck shared his suspicions with Fernandez, the elder listened quietly and nodded slowly. He then turned to leave the room, saying, "Follow me."
This time, he planned to have Buck select the ritual materials himself. In the tradition of hunters, all materials for ascension rituals should be gathered by the individual. Only then could the resonance with the mysterious power be maximized.
The Church had plenty of materials for such first-tier ascension rituals, and Fernandez was determined to have a contest with this special person, Buck!
"That area there is the bed of Heaven''s Flowers, pick the best one," Fernandez said, pointing to a giant glass greenhouse in the church''s back garden. Inside, numerous Heaven''s Flowers were cultivated, creating a stunningly colorful scene.
Fernandez gestured to the flowerbed, signaling Buck to pick as he pleased. Buck blinked, wondering to himself, "How do I know which one is the ''best''?"
As he pondered, his gaze was drawn to an unusually large Heaven''s Flower in the center of the bed. The flower bloomed vigorously toward the sun, its orange-yellow petals translucent like glass, shaped like a trumpet, emitting a breathtaking beauty. "This one!" Buck declared without hesitation and walked straight toward the large flower, plucking it from its stem.
Fernandez suddenly remembered something and moved his lips as though he wanted to say something, but Buck''s actions were too quick. Before Fernandez could speak, Buck had already returned with the flower.
Fernandez''s expression twitched involuntarily. He sighed deeply, forcing the words back down.
He had forgotten that the largest Heaven''s Flower was planted by Her Highness the Saintess herself and had always been regarded as a treasure. Oh well, the little lady might forget about it in a few days.
Fernandez thought to himself, glancing around furtively as if he were a thief. Seeing that no one was nearby, he quickly grabbed Buck and led him out of the greenhouse, saying, "Let''s go, to the next place."