Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 890 Departure [5.2K words]

"In the end, it really does feel more reassuring to solve problems using the magician's approach."

Inside the cemetery, Xin Lailai gazed at the magic chip hovering around her fingertip, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes.

Even if they lose their power temporarily, the knowledge they retain in their minds will not fade.

Both had fallen to rock bottom, but if they were technique-based, without any power or resources, they probably wouldn't know how to get back on the path to the extraordinary with only ordinary-level attributes.

After all, for more than 99.99% of skill-based contractors, their path to mastering skills is almost always to directly obtain a specialized skill from inheritance or skill scrolls, and then advance it all the way to master or even grandmaster through the Paradise's upgrade mechanism.

Perhaps he can rely on his own talent or hard work to know how to perfectly master and exert these powers, and how to train them from '1' all the way to '99', but as for the most important step from '0' to '1', at least among the technique-based contractors he has seen, apart from Dao Ji, no one has yet crossed that threshold on their own.

This is not an exaggeration. Although they seemed to have mastered swordsmanship through hard work and diligent practice in the Demon Slayer world, that was purely because they had already obtained the Paradise Mark and the Demon Slayer world had a recognized system for swordsmanship.

If you really asked them to try to understand this with the physical abilities of an average person, without any semi-data-driven, notarized system, Paradise Imprint, or guidance from predecessors, let alone them, even a genius with an S+ level of swordsmanship talent would probably not be able to figure out how to make their "weapon attack power" inexplicably increase by 10% just by holding a "sword-type weapon".

No, it should be said that even a monster with EX-level skill aptitude like Daoji probably couldn't answer the specific principle behind the 'weapon attack power' bonus generated by a specialized skill ability. Instead, they could only answer how they came to understand this ability through a certain feeling.

This is the biggest difference between the technique system and the magic system. As the advantage of knowing what but not why, the technique system can quickly accumulate from '1' to '99' through unreasonable 'insights', without having to spend a lot of time learning a complete knowledge system, mastering various calculation formulas, and verifying the past step by step like the magic system.

However, as the price of relying on my own thinking for everything, most technical magic users probably can't explain how they went from '0' to '1' until the end of their lives. Unlike spellcasters, who can rebuild spell foundations and reproduce the spell models they have mastered even if all spell models are destroyed and spell foundations are completely ineffective, they can still easily cross the threshold of going from nothing to something by relying on the knowledge in their minds.

"From this perspective, I feel like I understand why real mages sometimes feel sorry for magic users..."

Perhaps there is no difference in strength between the two sides, and the technique-based system may even have an advantage in pure strength. The technique-based system also knows how to make itself stronger, how to use this strength, and how to think about how to develop more moves.

But...that's all.

He couldn't explain the essence of the power he possessed, nor could he explain why he was able to grasp it or control it in this way. He couldn't even answer the question about the principle behind becoming stronger.

Just like someone who accidentally discovers the method of making nuclear bombs and desperately manufactures various nuclear bombs, and even develops various nuclear-powered facilities based on this, he may be able to surpass hundreds of millions of people with the power he controls, but he will never realize that the power he is obsessed with is just the tip of the iceberg of things called physics.

However, looking at it from another perspective, this system, which requires neither too much effort nor countless people to follow suit, nor even much thought, but only repeated 'diligent study and practice' to gain strength, does indeed meet a wider range of needs.

Or rather, for most people, including them, it is often enough to know 'how to become stronger', without needing to think about 'why this makes one stronger'.

After all, for most people in the world, the latter is mostly just a vague and enormous question, while the former is the key to being able to eat and drink well and live a comfortable life.

but--

The difference between these two options becomes immediately apparent when faced with this problem.

Like now.

"Hmm... While our magic is back on track, we have absolutely no clue how to restore our magical abilities."

"There's no way around it. According to the academic school's research on the technique system, the astral technique system actually relies heavily on the astral notarization rules. Now that the notarization rules are gone, it's indeed quite difficult to regain the power of the technique system so easily."

As Xin Lailai spoke, she looked at the long sword in her hand, a deep look appearing in her eyes.

As he said, although they easily regained some of their traits as masters of magic, they were completely clueless about how to regain their power in the technique system.

Ultimately, under normal circumstances, a bonus like 'Sword weapon attack power +xx%' that only applies to sword weapons and not other types of weapons is an extremely absurd and counterintuitive concept.

After all, in terms of the composition of the weapons, swords, knives, spears, axes, and halberds are essentially just iron ingots forged into different shapes. In fact, in terms of usability, these weapons can be clearly divided into different grades.

However, within the notarization system, they are strangely in a completely equal state, and there are extremely strict boundaries between them. A master of knife skills must wield a knife to trigger the weapon attack power bonus of a master of knife skills, and a master of sword skills must use a sword to unleash a powerful and unstoppable slashing effect.

Furthermore, the classification of weapons is no longer based on their appearance, but on the notarized validity they possess. A knife, no matter how strangely shaped it may be, will only trigger knife-type weapon bonuses if it is notarized as such. Similarly, a shield, no matter how much it resembles a shield, will not receive any of the basic bonuses from the Heavy Shield Master class if it is notarized as a non-shield item.

This is the magic and mystery of the notary system, and also the fundamental reason why they are helpless when their techniques fail.

"No, that's not right... Thinking about it carefully, this might actually be an opportunity?"

Xin Lailai pondered, her gaze suddenly shifting as she looked at the longsword in her hand, a deep, mysterious light flashing in her eyes.

Upon closer examination, they realized they didn't need to force themselves to recreate the strange power of the Technique system that enhanced specific weapons; they only needed to understand how it enhanced their weapons.

Within the Astral Plane, researchers cannot bypass this hurdle because the entire Astral Plane is shrouded in impartial rules jointly created by the Paradise Faction and the Void Tree.

For them now, not to mention the rules of notarization, even the notarization effect in their brand is almost invalid. Under these circumstances, the basic bonus that the rules of notarization bring to their greatsword master ability can only be applied to 'greatsword weapons'. It is not completely non-existent, but it is almost no different from nothing.

In other words, if they wanted to, they could easily glimpse the most fundamental secrets of the techniques in this world... No, that's not right! It should be said that this is something that absolutely cannot be done.

In the cemetery, Xin Lailai's gaze shifted several times before she finally bit her tongue to calm herself down.

Calm down! Calm down again!

Think carefully about their current situation!

The essence of the technical system is hidden beneath the rules of notarization.

Whether or not there is an opportunity, this should absolutely not be something they are getting involved in now. In other words, it involves more than just a system of techniques; it involves the entire set of notary rules themselves.

If they haven't figured anything out, that's fine. But if they have actually figured something out, no one cares about them now within the Macrophage world community, but what will happen after they leave?

It's important to understand that their brand is merely losing its notarization effect, not completely invalid. In other words, when they leave, the brand will naturally be able to know everything they've done in this world through the brand.

"Tsk, why am I suddenly feeling a little envious of those who specialize in techniques at times like this..."

Forcing herself to calm down and suppressing her thirst for knowledge, Xin Lailai clicked her tongue and muttered to herself.

Although he had just complained about the downsides of technique-based classes being mindless, when it came to this, he actually envied those who didn't possess the kind of curiosity and thirst for knowledge that could easily lead them to utter ruin.

"However, now that we've realized these things, we can't just give up and not try anything..."

Xin Lailai pondered, gazing at the worn-out longsword in her hand. Her eyes lowered slightly, and after staring at it for a while, a thoughtful look flashed across her eyes.

He dared not delve into the essence of the technique system, but he was willing to give it a try to draw out the power of the master technique masters within them, so that it could provide a certain boost to the non-heavy sword weapon in their hands.

The former could directly lead to them being judged as reckless violators, while the latter merely slightly obscures the notarization rules in their judgment of heavy sword masters.

Of course, most importantly, they confirmed through the existence of the spiritual world and soul space that they were merely being suppressed and eroded by the rules of this world, not that they had truly and permanently lost their abilities as grandmasters of magic and greatswords. And since these abilities still existed within them, there was no reason why they couldn't unleash them.

"Hmm... The question is, Lai Lai, how do you plan to draw out the power of the technique system?"

"I don't know. Let's try imagining this sword in our hands as a heavy sword that has grown into a longsword."

"...Will this really work?"

"Anyway, it's free, let's try it first. After all, techniques are so abstract that I can even cut through space with my own thoughts. Let's just think about the type of weapon and make a rough judgment. That shouldn't cause any problems."

As Xin Lailai spoke, she sat down cross-legged, closed her eyes again, and placed the longsword flat on her thigh. While recalling the feeling of mobilizing the sword's power, she tried to use a simple soul technique to guide her imagination to visualize that the longsword in her hand was not an ordinary longsword, but a longsword determined by the heavy sword. The next second...

Zheng——! !

The clanging of the blade rang out, and a sharp sword light flowed across the worn sword. Xin Lailai opened her eyes in a daze, staring at the long sword in her hand in disbelief.

"?!!"

No, it's already a success?

"It feels easier than I expected..."

"Perhaps it's because greatsword masters aren't that strict about judging sword-type weapons..."

As Xin Lailai spoke, her eyes twitched slightly, and her expression was noticeably subtle.

It can only be said that technique is too idealistic. He had just slightly relived the feeling of using sword momentum when he suddenly felt a slight change in the longsword in his hand.

"However, there was neither the consumption of mana nor the mobilization of soul energy, nor even the appearance of using protective energy. How exactly does the technique... or rather, the Grandmaster system of Paradise, change the foundation of our magic and the attack power of our weapons..."

Xin Lailai murmured, looking at the old longsword that looked much more pleasing to the eye than before, a strong sense of curiosity flashing in her eyes.

In fact, even grandmasters of magic only know how to reconstruct their spell foundations from scratch, but they can't answer how grandmasters of magic strengthen their spell foundations.

While the initial bonus abilities and ultimate abilities of the Grandmaster that they comprehend later are things that can be traced, they have no idea when or how the most basic numerical bonus appears or takes effect. It's as if it has been naturally accompanying them since the moment they mastered the Grandmaster of Spells and the Grandmaster of Greatswords.

This feeling is almost like...

"Okay, stop now, we can't think about it anymore."

Having already practiced a few times, Xin Lailai calmly restrained her thoughts and promptly banished the distracting ideas from her mind.

For those with a spiritual world and long-term meditation experience, controlling their thoughts is no longer difficult; it's just that they rarely did it voluntarily in the past.

But now... all I can say is that as his knowledge grows, Xin Lailai's intuition tells him that this feeling of walking a tightrope, constantly stopping between curiosity and restraint, will probably accompany them for quite some time to come.

"It's like standing on the edge of an abyss... No wonder 83203 said that the true path of magic is extremely difficult."

Xin Lailai murmured to herself, looking down at her hands, her understanding of the magic arts that 83203 had mentioned deepened.

Upon closer reflection, even without the restrictions of amusement parks and notarization, there is still a great deal of knowledge in this world that cannot be casually tried or touched.

Without sufficient self-control, carelessly touching those taboos could easily trigger a catastrophe far beyond their imagination. The destruction of the Arcane Eternal Star and the spellcaster system two thousand years ago serves as a cautionary tale.

According to the archives of the academic sect, there were spellcasters within the Arcane Eternal Star who attempted to prove that elements were not the key to the spell system, and that knowledge was the source of truth.

However, faced with the immense allure of elemental power, the spellcaster system ultimately succumbed to temptation, straying from the right path and placing elements above knowledge.

Now, although they restrained their thoughts in time only to protect themselves, no one can guarantee that they will not face the same great temptation as elemental power for spellcasters in the future.

"I have a feeling that this thing is even more troublesome than the risk of humanity being devoured by the divine and magical systems..."

Whether it's the divine system or the technique system, the process of becoming stronger involves the consumption of humanity, which, upon closer examination, is nothing more than fighting against oneself.

But the enemy the mage must face is the abyss of curiosity brought about by everything knowable in the astral plane, a truly boundless darkness that can be described as infinite.

"Thinking about it this way, I suddenly feel that Sister 83203 is even more amazing. After all, the temptations she faces must be much greater than ours..."

"After all, he's a big shot like 83203, so it actually feels quite normal."

As Xin Lailai spoke, she looked at the 'Blessing Interface' on the other side of their line of sight. There, beneath the previously empty health bar, two small buff icons had appeared out of nowhere. Furthermore, two new messages had also appeared out of nowhere in the right-hand area of ​​their personal interface, which had previously been empty:

[Black Sword (Right Side Column)]

……

"Spell Feats (↑)": When learning or using spells, spell power is increased by 20%.

"Swordsmanship Feat (↑)": When wielding a sword, weapon attack power is increased by 20%.

……

"There's new content..."

"Hmm, it seems that this world also has a system similar to magic and techniques, so it automatically treats the magic and techniques on us as some kind of buff effect."

Xin Lailai spoke, without showing much surprise in her eyes.

Regardless of what happened in this unknown world they are in now, its predecessor was ultimately a world within the Astral Notary Rules. As such, it must contain a large number of ability systems similar to those within the Notary Rules, especially given that it also gave birth to a 'Blessing Rule' that is so similar to the Notary Rules. The combat techniques they used before are the best proof of this.

"However, even though I just mobilized my magic power and soul energy, and even tried to sense the protective energy that hadn't reacted, the corresponding buff didn't appear."

"Perhaps it's because our physical attributes are still too weak, or perhaps it's due to the rules of this world. When I used my magic power and soul energy just now, I didn't feel that these two energies were enhanced. Maybe those grandmaster abilities related to energy itself cannot take effect within the rules of this world."

As she spoke, Xin Lailai stood up from the stone coffin, patted the dirt off her body, looked up at the narrow and cramped road in front of her, which resembled a sliver of sky, and walked forward calmly.

We've explored almost everything we could, now... it's time to let him see what the world outside this cemetery is really like!
……

(End of this chapter)