Above The Sky
Chapter 366 - 366 338 Spending Time with the Family 23

366: Chapter 338: Spending Time with the Family (2/3) 366: Chapter 338: Spending Time with the Family (2/3) Frost Butterflies, theoretically, are not considered intelligent beings.

Even if they aren’t Primal Fairies, regular fairies without a Power Level also lack the ability to think.

They just follow the Great Fairies around erratically.

They can’t even count to three, let alone nine.

Being able to count to nine indicates that the fairy has developed a basic logical structure and possesses a bit of wisdom, and can attempt to become a True Fairy.

When Ian removed the Frost Butterfly from his head, he couldn’t feel any resistance—the creature didn’t even flutter its wings, but just quietly made eye contact with Ian.

It tilted its head like a little man made of pixels, smiling at Ian, causing him to squint his eyes.

It didn’t look very bright.

“Its body, made of elementary Unmelting Ice, has the same origin as my Fairy Wings, which is why it instinctively feels close to me and sees me as a Great Fairy,” Ian murmured with a slight nod, realizing the fairy’s control over the substance of its own body was similar to his Spirit Energy’s control over Morien Steel.

Morien Steel is indeed very suitable for fairies, no wonder the Silver Fairy also has a direct Bloodline Inheritance to the Fifth Power Level, aside from the elemental fairies.

“However, it’s better for me to follow the Water Series.”

The materials required for the Silver Fairy and the functions it provided overlapped partially with those of The Unyielding Fortress.

Ian mainly thought that if his relationship with the Frost Butterfly was truly that of a Great Fairy and its following Little Fairy, then once his Fairy Bloodline advanced to the Second Energy Level, the Frost Butterfly should also be influenced by him, gradually gaining wisdom and starting to try to step into the First Energy Level.

In such a case, it would be like having an extra Fairy Floating Cannon during fights—an absolute boon!

Once the Magical Medicine Ingredients arrive from Yisen Gard, Ian would try to advance his Fairy Bloodline to the Second Power Level, accumulate experience, and pave the way for his advancement to the ‘Rock Cast Knight,’ the Second Power Level of the Sand Armor Apprentice.

But for now, he still needed to rest for a while, to allow his body to gradually adapt to the Aether Crystal in his left arm.

——It was all over.

This was what Ian concluded.

Whether it was the dream of the Worm Nest, the aftermath of the Labyrinth Ruins, or even his own future as a Knight, for now, they had all come to a temporary close.

Until his Knight’s credentials and equipment were forged, all his tasks now boiled down to waiting.

“It’s also time…

to spend time with my family.”

The days that followed were rather unremarkable.

After releasing the prophetic little fish into the Ivoke River, Ian headed to the Huai Guang Church with Elder Prude.

Elder Prude’s stomach indeed had no cancerous changes yet, but it did show signs of abnormal growth—a side effect of the Felsic Bear Lizard Bloodline, as the stomach of a Felsic Bear Lizard is quite special.

It secretes incredibly strong stomach acid to digest rocks and various high-energy minerals, drawing energy from them, and can even remain still for months after consuming a large amount of minerals.

The Elder’s regular three meals a day did not suit the physiological health of a bear lizard, as they could not address the erosion by stomach acid.

Actually, the Bloodline is best suited for Dwarven explorers who like to roam around, often starving and then feasting, binge drinking alcohol, and eating meals that sustain them for half a month.

That eating habit, along with some medicines, is exactly what resolves the issues of the Felsic Bear Lizard Bloodline, allowing them to live healthily and comfortably.

That’s how the Bloodline Inheritance works – it even inherits some of the dietary habits of its source of magic.

If one can’t fully comply, it won’t lead to madness or mental breakdown but can cause physical deformities and, like Elder Prude, potentially lead to the spread of cancer in the future.

“This is prejudice against the Mountain People!”

Although not a dwarf, Elder Prude still felt somewhat indignant: “The Mountain People have other Bloodline Inheritances and True Forms.

They don’t all binge eat or drink excessively!”

That is indeed true but is irrelevant for the matter at hand.

The Huai Guang Church did have specific treatments.

A monk took Elder Prude to get medicine, while Ian inquired with Bishop White Mist, expressing his desire for his younger brother to train and be educated within the Huai Guang Church.

“As long as you are willing to pay the necessary fees for the education, the Huai Guang Church welcomes anyone who wants to join the Church’s spiritual practice,” said Bishop White Mist, her words still simple and direct: “You have been a collaborator in dealing with crises for the Church, so the required amount can be reduced.

This matter needs to be reported to the Archbishop, but I can agree to it on his behalf.”

“However, you need to be prepared,”

When the White Mist Bishop said this, he slightly narrowed his eyes, and a ring of white fluorescence seemed to illuminate within his pupils, then he said something with a thought-provoking tone, “The Huai Guang Church is not exactly the kind of benevolent organization you might imagine, willing to help people and save the world.

Of course, we’d do that, but our main job is not charitable work.”

“We are an organization that wields sublimated martial force, dedicated to combating natural and man-made disasters, and we eradicate all threats to civilization through martial means.

In other words, we’re better at eliminating threats than helping others.”

“The training in Huai Guang Church is geared toward this as well—it’s very hard, even painful.

Before we can eliminate our enemies, we must first temper our bodies and wills with an iron hammer.”

Perhaps because he was speaking to Ian, the White Mist Bishop’s declaration was very sincere and down-to-earth.

He emphasized seriously, “Ian…

If your brother cannot persevere, we will not hesitate to advise him to leave.”

“It’s for his own good, and for yours.

We don’t want you to hold any biases against our organization because of the pain your brother may endure.”

“Is that so…” Ian also frowned.

In the dream of the Worm Nest, because of his own ‘death’ and Elder Prude’s passing, Elan was taken in by the White Mist Bishop and had endured the grueling training of the Huai Guang Church.

Setting aside whether his ‘death’ had been too much of a blow to Elder Prude, causing the latter’s health to decline,

If both he and Elder Prude were still alive, if there was still hope and someone to rely on, would Elan have the perseverance and determination to endure the training of the Huai Guang Church?

Or rather…

could he bear it?

Indeed, it was a problem.

It wasn’t until the next day, when Ian took Elan to the market to look at flowers, that he was still pondering over this issue.

The new market in Harrison Port, compared to the old centralized market from six years ago, was divided into several areas, at least it didn’t force someone wanting to buy flowers to endure the smell of fish and livestock for half a day.

A flower shop opened by a member of the Crimson People was on the edge of the New City District, close to the northwestern part of the city, where it was fairly quiet, not crowded, and the streets were filled with a faint, pleasant fragrance.

“I like flowers with thorns; their songs have such rhythm!”

Elan exclaimed eagerly to Ian about the differences in the melodies of the plants he usually listened to—for instance, flowers with lots of leaves had a melodious tune, flowers alone resembled acapella, succulents sounded like operas with robust force, and the rhythm of cacti was incredibly intense.

This was probably part of Elan’s Spirit Energy potential, and at this moment, Ian felt somewhat ashamed that he hadn’t discovered this earlier.

The elves of this world were different from those Ian had seen in many Western fantasy and magic dramas in his previous life; they did not possess long lifespans and a variety of special abilities, only some particular advantages, such as faster neural responses and higher resistance to various toxins.

For instance, the ability for elves to communicate with plants that he had imagined did not actually exist.

Of course, due to certain ways of thinking, elves may indeed have artistic talents…

But anyone who had met Andor, the uneducated Elf Pirate Captain, would know his taste could only be described as a tragedy, and according to what Ian had seen, his music appreciation tended more toward earthy or Hardbass.

It was hard to say whether this was a subrace of elves or a unique race.

In any case, for Elan, this might be a way to train his Spirit Energy, and Ian would not be stingy with money.

However, when Ian and Elan entered the flower shop, they saw someone they knew.

“Oh, it’s you guys?”

Fiscal Officer Lamar was holding a pair of scissors, pruning the branches of a small apple tree bonsai.

His red eyes showed some surprise when he saw Ian, a flash of confusion, but he smiled when he saw Elan and said, “What, are you here to buy flowers?”

“Yes, yes!” Elan also smiled and waved in greeting, “Brother brought me to buy them!”

“I didn’t expect it to be you, tough work.” Ian hadn’t expected the flower shop to be run by Lamar—but he soon realized it wasn’t Lamar running it, but rather his acquaintances and relatives, and that he was just lending a hand in his spare time.

Without pondering who could have the Fiscal Officer helping to prune branches, Ian nodded slightly, “I don’t know much about flowers, so I’ll let Elan choose for himself.”

Lamar smiled slightly, “I do know quite a bit.

The little guy seems to like thorny flowers like Blue Blood Flowers and White Thorn Grass, flowers with a more subtle fragrance.”