Unable to repay my student loans, I had no choice but to work part-time as a demon hunter.

Around 4 p.m., Gordon returned to No. 9 Knight Road to prepare his equipment for digging mud in the Blackwater River the next day.

Vera wasn't idle in the afternoon either; she did some arithmetic problems.

The multiplication and division calculations on the paper went through a fierce battle, with one of the problems, 1.25 * 0.8, being written as 0.1, 10, and an angry hole.

Hearing Gordon enter, she stuffed the papers into her pocket. Considering Vera carried a sword, Gordon didn't expose her.

She pointed to the letters on the table.

"Your 'pen pal'," Vera said in an unfriendly tone.

"Ms. Grant, that's wonderful." Gordon put down his coat, his face beaming with joy.

"You wrote three letters to each other during the holiday, and this is the fourth. You're so stingy with bread, but you don't skimp on postage to send the letters to Lu Ming."

Vera pressed her face against the envelope, where the fragrance of tuberose wafted out.

She grew to hate the smell more and more.

Whenever Eve sent a letter, the scent of a strange woman would linger for hours. This thought made Vera very uncomfortable.

"The more communication there is, the more complex the academic issues are."

"She cares about your eating and sleeping habits, what you look like, and how tall you are."

"This indicates that she wants to establish a basic understanding of the person she is communicating with."

She even asked you what kind of woman you like.

"I call it cutting-edge research."

Gordon threw out the Divine Thread, hooked it around Vera's collar, and slowly pulled her up. Vera did not resist, letting herself slide back half a meter like a puppy.

Gordon opened Eve Grant's letter.

Previously, Gordon had mentioned to Eve that the university was going to do a project on the Blackwater River.

She was also very interested in this.

This time, Eve introduces the myth of the "Fisherman King".

"...It is said that in the days when Lundenim was just a swamp, the 'Fisherman King' protected the river and the early inhabitants... Combining several nursery rhymes, I tried to reconstruct a proverb: 'Drink from the King's river, wear the King's scales; receive the King's favor, be the King's people.'" Gordon read.

"The Fishing King was the former ruler here. He made everyone listen to him," Vera concluded.

"Now the citizens also listen to the Emperor, it seems almost the same, except the office location has moved from the river to Mount King." Gordon pondered, and continued reading, "...Then, Saint Joshua landed on Logris Island in the First Age. According to a rumor forbidden by the Church, Saint Joshua himself fought the Fish King, wounded him in the groin, and his land turned into a wasteland...and he sank to the bottom of the Blackwater River."

"Saint Joshua has invaded the territory of the Fisher King."

  

"And shatter the Fish King's magic orb." Gordon pondered. "The Royal Church won't like that kind of rhetoric. According to the common version, before St. John's arrival, all Logris were idiots and unruly people, waiting for St. John's to teach them how to wear pants, and were not allowed to have their own civilization."

Why?

"It is noble to educate a civilization, but it is bloody to conquer one."

Finally, Eve earnestly hoped that Gordon could prove the connection between this myth and the real world.

in other words……

She implored Gordon to prove to the academic community that the Fishing King existed and that his authority still has influence today.

"What is she going to do?" Vera didn't understand.

"Let me find evidence to prove that a rare and powerful figure known as the Fisher King did indeed exist in Lundnium. That way, her past heretical tales will be taken seriously, and then she might return."

"Bad woman," Vera immediately commented.

"You could say he's ambitious, and most importantly..." Gordon observed the nursery rhyme.

We drink from the King's River, wear the King's scales, receive the King's favor, and become the King's people.

"Drink water, grow scales, and then obey," Gordon said slowly. "Doesn't that sound a lot like what the Blackwater Hermitage does?"

"Those wet-footed men do seem to be quite fearless. I killed five, and five more will appear tomorrow."

Gordon formed a hypothesis in his mind.

The Fishing King possesses a special essence that radiates spirituality outwards.

When people come into contact with the Blackwater River, which has been contaminated by spirituality, their bodies become alienated, and they develop a need for spiritual beings of the same origin.

In a worse scenario, alienation invades the brain, forming a form of mind control.

"...In other words, we thought the hermits would worship the Blackwater River, but the truth may be quite the opposite. They may have been forced into it. They all participated in the Blackwater baptism, inevitably swallowing some water, eventually growing scales on their bodies, becoming various aquatic creatures, and unable to disobey orders from their superiors," Gordon pondered.

"Many people in Lundnim have drunk from the Blackwater River, including you and me," Vera said immediately.

Boiling water can kill bacteria and viruses, but it has absolutely nothing to do with destroying one's spirit.

If this fishing king can use his spirituality to distort or even remotely control everyone, then everyone's efforts will have been in vain.

Gordon touched his own neck, then touched Vera's neck; there were no gills.

"It's scratchy." Vera rubbed her chin, but didn't slap Gordon's hand away.

"I have two things to do next." Gordon organized his thoughts. "First, I will dig out water-based spiritual crystals from the Blackwater River to meet the needs of the ritual and examine their extraordinary properties... On the other hand, I will bring this matter to light at the report meeting in June."

"Shall I tell everyone the story of the Fishing King?"

"Yes, only by elevating the vague myth to the level of a city-wide security issue will the imperial machine start turning and help us deal with the cult."

Why?

"Then it wouldn't be the two of us dealing with the cult, but rather the cult figuring out how to deal with a group of imperial civil servants."

"And if everyone believes in the existence of the Fishing King, then we need someone who truly understands the Fishing King to come back," Vera said.

"Yes, that's why she keeps sending me Xiangxiang's letters; she wants to go home." Gordon put the letter back in the envelope.

"I don't want her."

"If we're going to take down the Fishing King, we definitely need some manpower. Even Saint Joshua only managed to destroy one of its magic orbs. We'll probably only be able to tickle it."

If Eve returns to Lundnium, she might take a lot of things away.

Vera squinted.

The power of speech, relationships, seating arrangements in the living room, and even frequent interactions with Gordon. There are always people in this world who don't respect the principle of first come, first served; it's utterly despicable.

……

Before resting that day, Gordon did one last check on the embryo, the most important part of the Tideborn Ceremony.

The five elements are gradually being completed.

Embryo: Existing.

Genetic material: Existing.

Artificial womb: Under construction.

Aquatic spiritual crystal: I'll go dig it up tomorrow.

Ceremony location: We still need to find one, but Lundnium is so big, we'll find a suitable one sooner or later.

[The pristine new essence - "A new life yet to choose its shape." Before its first cry, it awaits its birth.]

Gordon took out the thing; it was brown and shriveled, like a dried fruit that had been repeatedly battered by life.

To be honest, he really wants a source that is compatible with him so that he can achieve high compatibility and low contamination.

The compatibility between water and thread can only be considered good, not a match made in heaven.

If it eventually hatches into a source material like a "mermaid's song" used to play music, it would certainly be valuable.

But this meant that he spent 17 gold pounds to commission the Cradle of Life, risked collecting materials, and ultimately created an unsuitable source material by hand.

It's emotionally difficult to accept.

"How about becoming a source material useful to your father?" Gordon lectured seriously. "I've invested 17 gold pounds in your womb, prepared the purest water-phase crystals for you, plus a genetic template from an ancient, extraordinary creature. No orphanage in all of Lundenim can afford this kind of treatment."

"...Who are you talking to?" Vera walked over. "It's not your son."

"As its guardian, I have the right to discuss life planning with it."

What insights does it offer?

"Pretending to be asleep."

"It might be dead. You can't wake it up."

To Vera, it was just a shriveled walnut kernel; before it became true source matter, its usefulness was less than that of a can of food.

"Feed." Gordon tapped it with his finger. "Do you even know what filial piety is? Without me, where would you be making your fortune right now? If someone found out, they'd just stomp on you and throw you in the trash."

"Pressure as a lentil?"

"This is family education: first talk about gratitude, then about planning, and only lastly about threats."

"It doesn't understand."

Upon hearing Vera's words, Gordon suddenly realized something.

Yes, it's an embryo, it doesn't understand anything.

but……

Babies are exposed to external information before birth, which is called prenatal education. In theory, external stimulation can achieve the effect of eugenics.

Biological embryos can be taught.

What about the basal embryo?

If we continue to provide it with signals, will it have any other effects?

No textbooks care whether the source matter can receive information, and no one else has such a thing as brand new source matter.

This is a research field that no one has ever set foot in.

Let Gordon fill the void!

If the source substance could receive information before its birth, then the first thing it should learn is to establish a connection with Gordon's current source substance, "Unbroken String," so that it can successfully merge with it.

He raised his right hand, wrapped the string around the lentil, and then activated his power.

Boom, boom, boom...

He delivered stable and regular vibrations to the source embryo.

ten seconds...

Twenty seconds...

Just as Vera was about to yawn, Lentil suddenly swayed slightly.

Gordon's eyes lit up.

"It moved." Vera placed her hand on the sword.

"Murdering a lentil?"

"It moved first."

"This is its home; it can move around as it pleases."

[A pristine, newly formed essence - "A new life yet to choose its shape." Before it could even cry, it already sensed connection to the outside world.]

"The prenatal education was a success. I guarantee it will be a magical pearl when it's born." Gordon was overjoyed.

"Huh?" Vera shook her head. "Let's figure out a way to ensure its safe delivery first."

She has seen many incomprehensible things and many strange people.

But this is the first time I've seen someone attempt to provide prenatal education based on the source of the essence.

However... this spirit of scientific research is very good.

If Gordon continues to educate it like this every day, this lentil might actually remember who bought it a pressure cooker after it's born.

……

The following afternoon.

Royal Academy of Sciences University.

"Charlotte, let's go." Gordon led Charlotte to find the water spirit.

"What topic have you come up with?" Charlotte closed her newly written thesis notes.

"A very respectable topic."

"Ah, what are they researching?" Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief. Since it was respectable, it certainly wasn't about going to fight the Otherworldly Demons.

"The spirituality of the Blackwater River."

"Spiritual beings are invisible and intangible, so how can you retrieve them from the water?"

"Relying on the mud."

Charlotte was quiet for a moment.

"You just said it was very respectable."

"Labor is the most glorious thing," Gordon said without changing his expression. "And it has many advantages. First, it's original; normal people wouldn't actively study mud. Second, it's verifiable; mud doesn't lie. Third, if it succeeds, we can extract spiritual crystals from the cheapest things in the whole city."

"Can you guarantee this will become a top-tier paper?"

"I promise. We definitely won't have to worry about summer homework this year."

Excellent reports, exemption from summer homework, going out to play with Gordon... these thoughts overwhelmed her wariness of mud.

"Okay." Charlotte nodded seriously. "I'll join. What should I bring?"

Gordon looked at her feet.

"A pair of shoes you never plan to wear again in your life."