Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?
Chapter 147 - 51: Promotion to Lv.5

Chapter 147: Chapter 51: Promotion to Lv.5

Peggy’s small talk with Quintus didn’t last long.

Aske sharply sensed that although the other party said there was "no suspicion," there seemed to be some probing intention hidden beneath the surface.

After all, it was his father who had judged that "The Azure Longsword could not possibly be a traitor," not himself.

Additionally, Quintus showed great interest in the violent explosion that had occurred in the center of the town but refrained from asking due to some reason.

Since Quintus did not ask, Aske was naturally happy to play dumb, pretending not to notice the other’s curiosity.

After a round of polite probing, Quintus excused himself to "return and host the party" and bade farewell to Aske.

Aske watched him leave the balcony, his mind drifting back to previous events.

It was after he had killed the White-clothed Assassin and had awakened in Hood’s room that this officer, Quintus, had come in with a group to thank him for saving Olin City.

Actually, according to Rasul, the Ilanian Assassins and the City Lord’s forces behind Quintus were, in fact, all part of the same group.

Did this mean that he had actually disrupted their plans? Was that why they had started investigating his team?

After he had agreed to become an honorary member of the Ilanian Assassin Organization, Rasul must have stopped supplying that intelligence, leaving City Lord’s forces’ Quintus to personally probe him.

As for the harmless theory about The Azure Longsword, it might not be as Quintus said, simply decided based on a surname. Perhaps Rasul had intervened as a guarantor.

Various guesses, deductions, and clues spun around in his mind, when Aske’s peripheral vision caught a petite figure standing at the edge of the crowd inside.

It was Thira wearing a mask.

"What did he tell you?" Thira approached the edge of the balcony and spoke in a hushed voice.

"He is very interested in our capabilities," Aske replied.

"Is that all?" Thira seemed surprised, and it almost sounded like a sigh of relief.

"The Medea incident was an accident," Aske said calmly, "She demonstrated extraordinary capabilities in battle, thus increasing our exposure to the officials. Since he is the son of the City Lord, it’s only natural for him to come personally and verify."

"I had a nightmare last night," Thira said, slightly pained, her brow furrowed, "I dreamt that my grandfather was fiercely questioning me, asking why I abandoned my responsibilities to become a wandering mercenary."

"So when I saw him talking to you, I thought he might have discovered..."

She trailed off, gradually falling silent, "Perhaps I’m just too nervous. I need to drink something."

"I’ll go back with you," Aske offered.

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After the banquet ended, the slightly tipsy Mages bid each other farewell and left the court, while Sparta and the mercenaries were nearly all passed out drunk on the spot, beginning to snore loudly.

The girls from The Azure Longsword fell somewhere in between, with Sigrdrifa and Mia having had way too much to drink and still wanting to act drunk on the spot. Nora took them down with a chop, and Eleanor and Peggy helped them walk back.

Medea, too, had drunk quite a bit, her cheeks beautifully flushed, but she had not lost her senses and stuffed several unopened bottles of red wine into her clothes before leaving.

Back at the military camp, it was probably around 11 p.m. Abandoned by everyone, Hood was sleeping outside in the common sleeping area, with various odd-shaped mechanical parts scattered around him, all useless gadgets he had tinkered with.

The girls entered the room, planning to teleport back to Fire Island.

"Medea," Aske called out to her, "You’re on guard duty outside tonight."

"Ah?" Medea asked, still dazed, "Is it my turn?"

"Yes," Aske said.

So Medea found a bed, grabbed a book, and fell asleep snoring heavily.

Aske then teleported back to Fire Island with Nora.

Fire Island’s mountains were shrouded in night, surrounded by the ceaseless lapping of the sea. The girls went to sleep in the cabin while Aske and Nora quietly walked down the mountain to a secluded grove by a lake.

"Here?" Nora asked.

"Yes," Aske said calmly, "Do you want to test the sound first?"

Nora, slightly embarrassed, fiddled with the corner of her clothing and carefully began to sing.

"I walk alone on the country road~ I bring pastries for Grandma to taste~"

This well-known "Little Red Riding Hood" from my previous life, seemingly originating from Brazil, was adapted by the game development team into the game. Now, sung by Nora, it immediately made Aske feel homesick.

Angels’ spiritual bodies emerged from the surrounding air, slowly descending with Nora’s young and crisp singing voice, and began collectively humming with the melody,

"When the sun sets~ when the stars ignite~ all things in the world cannot escape eternal sleep and death~"

Although it was the same tune, the lyrics were entirely different. Nora intended to correct them, but the spiritual bodies of the angels sang louder and louder, eventually filling the skies of Fire Island with their song.

Angel’s Song, reduces the probability of spirituality going out of control by 60%.

Under the buff of Angel’s Song, Aske took out a potion, specifically the "Block I" from the Duel Sequence.

He was going to advance to Lv.5 tonight.

Drinking the Magic Potion, his body almost immediately showed signs of going out of control, but then it was forcibly suppressed by the singing of the angels.

His arms began to thicken, his blood pressure nearly tripled the normal level, causing the muscle fibers in his arms to bleed, and his skin emitted a burning high temperature.

His shoulder blades began to twist and deform, his whole skeleton screamed and roared, emitting cries of unbearable burden.

His heart beat rapidly in his chest, as if it might explode the next second. His eardrums also vibrated incessantly, accompanied by intense dizziness and delirium, nearly causing him to faint.

Nora’s hand gently rested on his back, her Extraordinary Power soothing his fluctuating spirituality.

Like a small boat tossed about in a storm and huge waves, it felt as if throwing down a heavy anchor at the crucial moment helped avert a potentially capsized fate.

This dangerous state, where his spirituality almost went out of control yet was forcibly maintained, lasted for nearly half an hour before gradually stabilizing.

The nearly exhausted Aske struggled to prop himself up and, after recovering some strength, nodded to Nora,

"It’s done."

He had begun to digest "Block I," and vast knowledge of defense, collision, and force dissipation entered his mind.

Now, Aske had simultaneously acquired "Perfect Physique X," "Sharp Weapon I," "Blunt Weapon I," "Evasion I," and "Block I."

In terms of physical fitness, he had finally reached the entry threshold of Star Nine Forms.

The Star Nine Forms, a part of Extraordinary Swordsmanship, include Sharp-breaking, Heavy-breaking, and Sweeping Shot for the first three levels of swordsmanship.

Apart from the proficiency in swordsmanship itself, there are stringent requirements on the user’s Magic Potion Sequence.

Sharp-breaking enhances hit rate, requiring the Magic Potion Sequence "Sharp Weapon I" and "Evasion I";

Heavy-breaking enhances armor penetration, requiring the Magic Potion Sequence "Blunt Weapon I" and "Block I."

Sweeping Shot reflects ranged damage, requiring the Magic Potion Sequence "Sweeping Shot I."

If one doesn’t meet the Magic Potion threshold, they can still perform the sword techniques, but not achieve the intended effect, requiring higher skill to compensate.

As the terms popular in the forums go, studying swordsmanship before taking Magic Potions is called "Sword Sect"; taking Magic Potions before learning swordsmanship is called "Qi Sect."

The Qi Sect advances methodically, providing a good player experience; the Sword Sect allows for rapid power gain but demands high operation skills, and poor control equates to being weak.

Since Aske had profound knowledge of Star Nine Forms from his previous life, he chose the path of the "Sword Sect," mastering the Star Nine Forms first and then gradually completing the required Magic Potion Sequence.

Now, having completed four out of five combat potions, he mirrored Ling Huchong from the Legends of the Condor Heroes, who resolved his internal strength issues by learning the Muscle-Changing Scriptures, then could truly unleash the power of the Dugu Nine Swords.

Aske stood up from the bed, slowly feeling the rich spirituality surging through his body.

He also felt a certain suffocation, as if breathing on a high-altitude plateau with insufficient oxygen, and felt somewhat weak.

Having advanced to Lv.5, he had reached the current upper limit of power allowed by the Magic Tide Level and was unable to advance further into Lv.6.

Even if Lv.6 Magic Potions were placed in front of him, drinking them would undoubtedly cause him to lose control due to insufficient spirituality.

Meanwhile, having advanced to Lv.5, he had reached the current world’s allowed zenith of power.

With Lv.5 Physical Power, he could withstand the shooting damage from ordinary Firearms. His strong muscle density and Self-healing Ability meant that as long as he wasn’t hit in vital areas like the eyes, heart, or brain, Aske could completely charge forward under gunfire.

He just needed to remove the bullets promptly after the battle.