When Luca regained consciousness, he found a set of velvet blankets draped over him. The luxurious chambers around him felt vaguely familiar, and a faint, almost imperceptible fragrance lingered in the air.
He quickly recognized it as Fratis’s room.
“Master Luca has awakened! Quickly, inform Her Majesty the Queen!” A joyful voice came from the side.
The maid who had been waiting noticed immediately that he had regained consciousness and hurriedly went out to report.
“Finally, it’s over,” Luca muttered, ignoring the maid beside him. He held his head as he sat up.
Feeling like he had narrowly escaped death.
The pain of having the Source Power wash through his body was no less than the agony of having his flesh and bones crushed repeatedly while conscious. Even with Luca’s endurance, it had been almost too much to bear.
Fortunately, he had made it through.
He was dressed in silk undergarments, and as he stepped down from the bed amid the maidens’ surprised exclamations.
Luca took a moment to calm his mind. He then used his mental energy to inspect his own body. What he discovered was striking.
Within his blood and flesh, there seemed to be a hot current surging through him. Luca could clearly feel that his body was now brimming with boundless strength, and his entire being felt lighter, as though he had been reborn.
There was no sense of discomfort whatsoever.
Luca opened his status panel to take a look.
The light flashed briefly, and the virtual game interface appeared before him.
[Name: Luca]
[Level: LV 46]
[Talent: Heaven’s Blessing Divine Body]
[Class: Demonic Rune Mage, Witch Doctor, Dreamweaver, Fate-Swapping Master, Blazing Sunwalker]
[Health: 860,000]
[Mana: 1,230,000]
[Divine Power: 109]
[Source Power: 324]
[Attack: 313,000 – 335,000]
[Attributes: Strength: 36,000, Spirit: 45,000, Stamina: 21,000, Agility: 19,000]
[Special: Charm 500, Perception 500, Aptitude 500, Luck 500]
[Titles: Unrivaled in Elegance and Charm, Peerless Appearance, Dangerous Perception, Son of Luck, Master of Asceticism…]
…
When Luca saw the numbers on the panel, even though he had prepared himself mentally, he couldn’t help but take a sharp breath.
After absorbing the divine shard, his stats had not only increased several times over but his special attributes had also surged dramatically, all reaching a value of 500.
What surprised Luca even more was that a new entry, “Source Power,” had appeared on his panel. If “Divine Power” was the manifestation of a deity’s strength, then “Source Power” should likely be the power of the Ancient Gods.
However, its exact function remained unclear to him.
While Luca was deep in thought, the door to the room suddenly swung open.
A group of people rushed in, their faces filled with excitement. Winston, Ziegfried, Evelyn, as well as Augustine, Selin, Lucia, and Fratis had all arrived.
“You finally woke up!” Lucia hurried over and began examining him from head to toe. After confirming there was nothing wrong with him, she let out a long sigh of relief.
“Why are all of you here?” Luca was surprised to see so many people. He hadn’t expected such a gathering.
“We were just discussing matters in the great hall when the maid came in to tell us you were awake,” Sophia explained.
At that moment, Luca noticed that Fratis was also there. She was dressed in an incredibly luxurious golden royal robe and wore a magnificent golden crown adorned with jewels.
Compared to her previous youthful demeanor, she now exuded an air of authority and nobility.
“I’m relieved you’re alright,” Fratis sighed in relief.
When Luca heard that, he recalled how Fratis had been so terrified when he suddenly passed out a few days ago. It had worried her greatly.
Experience new tales on freewebnovel
Luca looked at the royal robe Fratis was wearing, then smiled wryly at everyone and asked, “How long have I been asleep?”
“Three days. The coronation ceremony just ended yesterday,” Ziegfried, the fifth prince, answered. Then, with a hint of confusion, he asked, “What happened that day? Why did you suddenly faint?”
Augustine also looked at him in surprise and said, “We thought something was wrong with your body. We had you checked multiple times, but there was nothing physically wrong.”
Sophia bit her lip and instinctively turned her head away. The past few days, she had been the most worried. If something had really happened to Luca, Sophia knew she would never be able to forgive herself.
“It’s nothing, just a little accident while practicing a secret technique,” Luca casually explained. He couldn’t exactly tell them that he had fainted from the overwhelming pain of absorbing the Source Crystal’s power.
At that moment, Evelyn stepped forward and placed her palm on his wrist. After sensing his condition, her gaze suddenly became a little strange. “By the way, what exactly did you gain from this opportunity?”
“Your strength now… I can’t even sense it anymore.”
The others, reminded by Evelyn’s words, also noticed something was off.
Luca’s previous aura and vitality had been incredibly strong. Even from a distance, one could feel his presence.
But now, it was as though he had become an ordinary person. Even though he stood right in front of them, none of them could detect any fluctuations in his energy. This left everyone in the room feeling a bit puzzled.
As Luca was trying to figure out how to cover up his situation, Sophia suddenly spoke up, “It’s possible that Luca’s body hasn’t fully recovered yet. Let’s not disturb him, everyone. Let’s give him some rest and head out for now.”
Although everyone was curious, they didn’t press further. They exchanged a few words with Luca, reminding him to take care of himself and assuring him that matters in Dawn City were under control. Then, they left the royal chambers, leaving only Sophia and Lucia to stay and watch over him.
“My body’s almost fully recovered; there’s no need to worry,” Luca reassured the two women, before asking, “I wonder how things are going in Dawn City now?”
“Thanks to you,” Lucia said with a smile. “The First Prince, the Second Prince, and the Fourth Prince, along with the noble factions that supported them, have all been cleaned out. Their power and influence have been completely redistributed.”
“Yesterday, Fratis was crowned. Those nobles are all trembling, afraid of being held accountable for their actions later.”
“From now on, the Clinton Empire’s power structure will be reshuffled, and Dawn City is back in order. It’s like a rebirth after destruction.”
Luca felt a sense of relief hearing this. As long as things on Fratis’ side were settled, he no longer had any worries.
After a moment of thought, Luca turned to Lucia and said, “I might need to head to the Western Sea soon. Do you want to come with us, teacher?”
“Why are you going to the Western Sea?” Lucia asked, surprised. Sophia, on the other hand, seemed to have anticipated this and merely nodded.
Although they didn’t know the exact location of the Celestial Pearl, it was certain that it was somewhere in the Western Sea. Coincidentally, Luca’s territory, Haillan County, was also located there, so they had to make the trip.
“We’re going to check on my territory,” Luca explained. “It’s been a long time, and as the lord, I can’t just ignore it. I’m bringing you along to help guide me, teacher.”
Sophia, being the daughter of the Ryanthe Count, had received the best education from a young age and had the experience for such a task. Lucia didn’t think much of it and simply said, “Just make sure you come back soon. I won’t be joining you; the association and academy have been busy, and I need to help them manage things.”
She was, of course, referring to Augustine and Selin.
Luca smiled, “Once things settle over there, we’ll come back and take you with us, teacher. The Western Coast is a great place to retire, even in the entire Eternal Continent.”
“Now you’re thinking about your teacher too? Guess you’ve still got a little conscience left,” Lucia said, rolling her eyes, though her tone betrayed the smile she couldn’t quite suppress.
…
The situation was smoothed over, and Luca’s health was no longer a concern. The little detour was soon behind them.
After leaving the palace, Luca made his way to Dawn City and found Tia.
“Master, are you planning to head to the Western Sea?” Tia, still recovering from the shock of Luca being fine, was caught off guard by the news, her eyes widening in surprise.
Mira raised her hand, asking eagerly, “Can we come with you, Master?”
The other high-ranking members of the Hope God Sect looked at him with eager expressions, hoping to continue following in his footsteps.
“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” Luca shook his head and smiled. “I’m going over there to handle some matters, and I likely won’t be returning until everything is taken care of. The exact timing is uncertain.”
“The Hope God Sect is still in its infancy. I’ve already spoken with Her Majesty the Queen, and as long as the sect doesn’t do anything evil or immoral, she won’t interfere with its development. She’s also agreed to establish the Hope God Sect as the new state religion.”
“This period is crucial for the Hope God Sect, and it’s more important that you remain here to support it.”
As he spoke, Luca’s hands glowed with the dreamlike power of Dreamweaving, which gradually coalesced into two gems.
The gems shimmered with a mix of dreamlike and rainbow-colored light, so magnificent that they seemed to belong to another world entirely.
“What is this…?” Tia and the others could sense a very strange power emanating from the gems.
It was similar to Dreamweaving power, but it felt slightly different.
“These are gems infused with dream power and a special kind of energy. You can call them ‘Hope Gems,'” Luca casually explained.
These two gems were created by Luca, merging his Dreamweaving power with Source Energy. After some experimentation, Luca discovered that one of the abilities of Source Energy was…
Enhancement—and it was enhancement with no side effects!
Abilities enhanced by Source Energy would have much stronger effects, easily surpassing their previous potency by more than ten times!
“Tia,” Luca turned to her with a smile, “From today on, I appoint you as the first Hope Goddess of the Hope God Sect.”
“From now on, you will have full authority to manage the sect.”
As his words fell, the two Hope Gems slowly floated into the air.
One landed in Tia’s hand, while the other merged into Mira’s forehead.
Mira’s body trembled slightly, and her previously pale face began to regain some color. Vitality emanated from her as her form, which had only been a projection of illusion until now, quickly became solid under the influence of this power.
The colorful lights intertwined, and the energy finally formed a strange symbol on her forehead—an incredibly mystical sight!
Everyone, including Tia, watched in stunned silence.
They could all feel an unprecedented life force emanating from Mira!
It wasn’t like the vitality of an ordinary human, but neither was it like anything they had seen before. It was something completely different, almost like a new kind of being.
“This feeling…” Mira stared at her hands in a daze, feeling as though some kind of restraint had been broken.
The soul-binding shackles had vanished, leaving her with a profound sense of rebirth.
Luca didn’t respond but instead gently patted Mira’s head.
He smiled and said, “From today on, you are free.”