Chapter 35: Divinity

As the mist dissipated, the lead ranger took the front, and the rest of the group followed cautiously behind him into the marshland. Along the way, they encountered many mud creatures and other small beings native to the swamp, but all of them seemed soulless, standing completely still. The entire marsh had fallen into a deathly silence, as if the Goddess of Life herself had pressed the pause button here.

Cook drew his cross sword and lifted a rat-like creature for closer inspection, then spoke.
“It’s alive, not dead yet!”

Dalena and Jennifer merely frowned, saying nothing.

“The ingredients Borne used for his potion contain no lethal toxins. Clearly, he considered even this. Otherwise, wiping out all life in a stretch of marsh would be no small trouble,” remarked President Lisper.

The members of the Arcane Society were initially surprised; then their expressions grew somewhat despondent. They had assumed this field mission would give them a chance to showcase their abilities, but in the end, their confidence had been thoroughly crushed! Judging by the situation, even without them, Borne could have handled everything on his own.

“So this is the true gap between us and a genius?” The Arcane Society members found themselves questioning their own worth. To have entered Giles Academy, one had to possess outstanding magical talent, and they were the standouts among their peers in other aspects as well—geniuses, in a sense.

Every noble house, in every generation, saw dozens vying openly and behind closed doors; the competition was fierce, and only elites emerged victorious! To be admitted into the Arcane Society was to be counted among the elite of elites. The head of the Society was almost always the top student, and this year, there was the unprecedented Rayleigh Cecil, who seized the position as a fourth-year. Admittedly, there was precedent for such prodigies—talent always emerges to claim the throne. They had a clear sense of their own standing; otherwise, they would not have joined the Arcane Society, where collective power and resources could help narrow the gap with true geniuses.

The Academy was a conveyor belt; everyone read the same books and learned the same knowledge. What one student knew, so did the others. Noble education, however, offered something extra: information the Academy did not have, distilled by generations. Every race—elves, dwarves, or otherwise—produced, every few or several years, one or two individuals of peerless talent that left their contemporaries in despair. The last such figure in Nether’s history had been the current Dean of Giles: Borne Conchenio! In his era, Borne Conchenio shone like a bright moon in a starless sky.

With the rise of bloodline sorcerers in Nether, Rayleigh Cecil, widely recognized as the most gifted, was thought destined to become the next greatest of his generation. Unexpectedly, Borne Eolum appeared out of nowhere, quickly broke the record for the youngest arcanist, entered the Academy while barely of age, and ascended rapidly to a mid-level mage in just two or three years. Rayleigh himself was defeated by Borne in a private duel. Though Borne lacked the official title of top student, everyone at the Academy knew he was the true Number One.

This mission had been assigned by the Academy as a trial for the Arcane Society; Borne had been included as a safeguard to ensure their safety. Combat ability did not guarantee excellence in other areas—they had already overestimated him as much as possible, yet in the end, they had simply become bystanders.

Borne’s rank as an arcanist had also risen to the intermediate level; arcane magic seemed to flow from his hands as if in bulk, while the rest of them felt like mere bystanders, contributing little along the way. The talents of those who could join the Arcane Society were by no means mediocre, especially the higher-ups. Though they felt dejected, they resolved to devote more time to improving their own strength, and to decline unnecessary social engagements from now on!

As they ventured deeper into the heart of the swamp, a small tribe composed of various nests came into view in the distance. Seeing the silent lizardfolk settlement, the group reinforced themselves with various auxiliary spells and edged closer. Just as they were about to reach the outermost fence, the ranger, Harbwick, suddenly signaled them to halt, his expression shifting abruptly.

“Wait, there’s blood in the air!” Nearly every adventurer is highly sensitive to the scent of blood, but the marsh’s myriad odors had masked it until they were nearly upon it. Raising his hand, he cast a [Detect Magic] spell in an instant.

President Lisper and the others glanced at him with a look of surprise.
Impressive—he could cast silently and instantaneously!

The glances from the Arcane Society members secretly delighted Harbwick, a small smirk playing at his lips as he inwardly hummed in satisfaction. But the feedback from his spell left him aghast: there were almost no signs of life within the settlement.

“Let’s move!”
With that, he led the way forward at a brisk pace.

When the group reached the central area, they were met with a field of lizardfolk corpses. Nearly all had been decapitated—clearly Borne’s handiwork. Lizardfolk possessed formidable regenerative powers, not quite on par with trolls, but for safety’s sake, Borne had beheaded them all. At the time, all the lizardfolk had gathered together, so the blood pooled as one.

The phrase “a river of blood” could not be more apt for this scene!
Even the battle-hardened ranger paled at the sight, muttering inwardly, “Is this man a demon? Such slaughter!”

The Arcane Society members had clearly never witnessed such carnage; Cook and Berron’s faces went white as sheets, their hands and feet cold, while Dalena and Jennifer clapped hands to their mouths and vomited by the side. President Lisper’s face fluctuated between blue and white as she struggled to suppress her nausea.

Borne, meanwhile, was directing his [Invisible Servant] to rummage through a pile of rubble, but, seeing the others approach, he smiled and came over to greet them.
“You’re here. Take this fellow with you; he should have the information we need. Handing him over to the Academy might even bring a reward!”

He nudged the lizardfolk chieftain, who had been whittled down to a stick-like form.

Though they knew Borne was on their side, seeing him standing there with a blood-dripping cross sword, the group felt an invisible pressure bearing down on them—a sensation as if their entire bodies had been frozen in place. Even the experienced ranger faltered for a moment, inwardly marveling at how terrifying the youth of today could be.

“Ugh…”

Though Borne’s clothes remained clean and tidy, the blood-soaked longsword in his hand finally proved too much for Lisper, who could not help but vomit.

Heh…

Perhaps it was because Borne had faced life and death before; after personally wiping out an entire tribe of lizardfolk, he felt not the slightest fear or guilt at having taken so many lives. Even Borne himself wondered if he had become cold-blooded.

Judging by the others’ reactions, it was clear they had been frightened.
Was this the so-called “killing aura”?

“System, scan my physical state and display the data for comparative analysis.”
He turned back to continue sifting through the pile of rocks, and only then did the others breathe a sigh of relief, secretly astonished. The magic he had just used was not particularly advanced, yet he seemed somehow even more powerful than before.

Name: Borne Eolum
Netherese Human
Mage 8 / Arcanist 6 / Monk 4
Level: 10
Basic Attributes: Strength 4 (+0.3), Agility 3.5 (+0.5), Constitution 3.8 (+0.5), Intelligence 11 (+0.5), Perception 3 (+3)
Exclusive Item: Ion Stone (Divinity +1)
Functions: Storage, Deduction, Scan
Knowledge:
Diplomacy +18, Disguise +25 (Performance +10), Arcana +28, Architecture & Engineering +81, Dungeons +21, Geography +32, Toril History +102, Nature +56, Nobility & Royalty +54, Religion +32, Planes +31, Abyssal Hell +24, Ion Stones +85, Biology +61, Physics (Electrical, Electronic) +88, Sculpture +61, Advanced Mathematics +112
Languages: Netherese Noble Tongue, Common, Elvish, Draconic (Beginner)
Martial Skills: Cross Swordsmanship (Master), Monk Breathing Technique (Proficient)
Feats: Evasion, Fast Movement, Calm Mind, Ki Strike
Specializations: Quick Casting, Mobile Casting, Silent Spell
Arcane Spells:
Cantrips: Light Orb, Mage Hand
Level 1: Identify (Runes), Shocking Flash
Level 2: Misty Step
Level 3: Fireball, Stinking Cloud
Level 4: Arcane Eye
Spells: …

Borne glanced at his attribute panel—there had been no significant change, just a mass of data as indecipherable as ever in the Weave.

“Looks like the chip still needs further upgrades.”
Apparently, things like killing aura and domains were still beyond the chip’s current capabilities—not that he’d expected otherwise. The Weave itself was a far more advanced system, and the Goddess of Magic was a high deity; perhaps if the chip’s divinity stat were maxed out, there’d be hope.

Of course, obtaining a point of divinity this time had been a pleasant surprise.

Divinity!
Even his grandfather, Count Eolum, did not possess such a thing—yet he had managed to acquire it, and though it was assigned to the chip, it was still his in the end.

All of the chip’s functions had received a significant boost, both in deduction and in strengthening his own abilities.

…