Chapter 188: Chapter 180: The Sower, The Gourmet, The Specter

When Byrne once again took part in the Alchemy Council meetings, he always harbored an indistinct fear deep within him whenever he faced that man with the robust and powerful voice.

“Solar Gold” had always behaved like a steady middle-aged man, yet in reality, he was a terrifying entity who killed without batting an eye, and he possessed formidable strength.

He had every reason to suspect that the abilities “Solar Gold” exhibited were not unique to him or perhaps not even his core true power.

After the “Fein Incident,” not a single person doubted that the so-called “Discipline Upholder” could be someone from the Sun Church.

After all, possessing a bloodline related to sunlight didn’t mean one was from the Sun Church; it’s just that there were more people within the Sun Church who had sunlight-attribute bloodlines.

However, the reach of the Sun Church’s influence in Lorne and the Seven Stars was too far from Cyart, with no political entanglements between them, nor any enmity or cause and effect, hence the Cyart people would never suspect in this direction.

They wouldn’t suspect a group of people they never encountered in their lives.

And there was another very important reason, which was that the kingdom-protecting barrier that enveloped the entire Cyart had been temporarily shut down due to Bast’s tampering.

A kingdom-protecting barrier is something every nation possesses, of paramount importance, and typically surrounds the entire national border.

Any Monarch Level Extraordinary Exponent that crosses the barrier would immediately have their movements tracked and locked onto.

In fact, this wasn’t the first time the East Coast Province’s kingdom-protecting barrier had encountered issues, and the Cyart King had once dispatched investigators, but to no avail.

The perpetrator of the “Fein Incident” was undoubtedly a Monarch Level powerhouse who could appear and disappear without a trace, clearly indicating the kingdom-protecting barrier had malfunctioned once again.

Therefore, the Cyart King discreetly sent an important member of the Royal Family to the East Coast Province to thoroughly investigate the traitors hidden among the nobility and church’s upper echelons.

Another year quickly passed, and the time officially reached the Blazing Sun Era 1821.

Byrne was forty-two, Irene was forty-one, Chris was twenty-seven, Darren was twenty-one, and Lilian was seventeen.

Darren and his wife from the Oder family soon had another daughter, whom they named Helen, meaning a person of bright sunshine.

The Fischer family finally noticed an interesting fact: Byrne’s descendants all had jet-black hair, while Chris’s descendants all had silver-white hair.

The aging Theo mused in private that if the Fischer family were to eventually settle in different family estates, they could be aptly referred to by people as the Black Fischers and the White Fischers.

That being said, Chris and Byrne had no intention whatsoever of splitting the family apart.

The new generation of eight Daybreakers had freshly emerged, undergoing the Lost Ritual with the latest type of “Shadow of the Lost” potion, refined by Byrne.

Among them was one from the Path of Authority, two from the Path of Knowledge, two from the Path of Forging, one from the Path of Divine Sacrifice, one from the Path of Tranquility, and one from the Path of Nature.

The Daybreaker from the Path of Nature was named Ray, an orphan who lost his family to a naval battle, a man of few words, well-built and tall, he had been raising a snow-white large dog since his childhood.

Irene originally thought that the reticent Ray might follow the Path of Tranquility, but to her surprise, it turned out the Path of Nature suited him best. Later she realized that Ray was not short of words but simply did not wish to speak with humans, whereas he would become quite talkative when facing animals.

The 1st Rank on the Path of Nature is the “Sower.”

In the Spirit Realm, its form is not human, but several seeds dancing in the wind.

As a “Sower” Extraordinary Exponent, the enhancement to physical prowess is seven, whereas Spiritual Power enhancement is three, the only Extraordinary Power they possess is “Growth Promotion.”

They can plant any seeds they have touched anywhere and afterward use the Extraordinary trait “Growth Promotion” to make those seeds grow and mature rapidly.

“Growth Promotion” is not a power that can readily be useful in combat, but Ray was immediately taken by Byrne to the important medicinal ingredient cultivation grounds and then arranged to frequently mature those valuable plants day and night.

Among the second-generation Daybreakers, Inna from a prominent news agency has reached the position of deputy editor-in-chief with the support of the Fischer family; at the same time, she has also reached the 2nd Rank of the Path of Wholeheartedness, “Gourmet,” having moved beyond merely being a “Bard.”

The physical prowess enhancement for “Gourmet” is 10, and the Spiritual Power enhancement is 15.

In the Spirit Realm, his image is a gentleman glowing with yellow light, preparing to dine.

As a “Gourmet” from the Power of Consecution, after becoming an Extraordinary Exponent, Inna gained the Extraordinary traits “Wonderful Taste” and “Perfect Digestion.”

“Wonderful Taste” means that any smell Inna’s nose has sniffed or any flavor her tongue has tasted, she can remember them for a lifetime.

If the “Gourmet” manages to completely ingest the item, they can even understand the complete makeup of that item thoroughly.

Then, through “Perfect Digestion,” she can transform whatever she has eaten into temporary power, and if the consumed item has some form of mystique, the “Gourmet” might even be able to utilize the corresponding Extraordinary Power in one go.

However, after using up the power of one type of delicacy, a “Gourmet” must once again eat and digest before they can use a brand-new power.

Moreover, the power of “Perfect Digestion” is capable of growth.

Theoretically, once Extraordinary Exponents of the Path of Wholeheartedness reach a high enough rank, even concepts like curses can be consumed by “gourmets.”

Furthermore, Darren had finally reached the 2nd Rank of the Path of Shadow not long ago.

“Specter.”

It was a very strange Power of Consecution. Darren’s physical attributes increased by thirteen points, his Spiritual Power increased by twelve, and he also acquired the Extraordinary trait “Specter Body.”

He could continuously consume Spiritual Power to transform into a ghostly form of the dead, moving through the material world and travelling through walls, blades, and other such objects, while also being completely immune to any strength of physical attack.

In the study of the manor in Black Mountain Town, Darren was absentmindedly holding a book, silently pondering the power he had gained.

He had fully grasped the essence of the “Path of Shadow.”

Those who tread the Path of Shadow need to bring about negative emotions in others to slowly digest the power of their Consecution.

“Does this mean that this is a stairway to divinity innately suitable only for villains?”

Occasionally, he wondered, absurdly, if he was an innately bad person. At least the great Lord of the Lost thought so, and his father probably thought the same. He had even said once that all Darren had to do was avoid harming the family.

Darren was also starting to understand why his father hadn’t been so upset about the matter of his illegitimacy.

“Perhaps it’s because he already understood what kind of person his son truly was.”

“But am I truly bad? No matter how I think about it, surely I’m not, right?”

Deep down, Darren found it utterly baffling because apart from having two lovers, he hadn’t really done any evil deeds and had always been a law-abiding citizen.

“Compared to those nobles who abuse commoner women and engage in fights on the streets, I’m completely and utterly a kind and law-abiding person!”

After pondering in the study, he shook his head slightly, then proceeded to open a letter delivered by a servant, which contained orders from Colonel Abel Leone.

“He’s inviting me to rejoin the Cyart Royal Army and become his lieutenant… Well then.”

Having served as a personal guard beside Colonel Abel for two years, Darren didn’t actually have any experience as an officer yet, but he was fully accustomed to military life.

He decided to return to the Cyart Royal Army to become Colonel Abel’s lieutenant and to head to the Rhea frontlines.

“This will benefit my further advancement on the Path of Shadow, as creating negative emotions in war is too easy.”

Currently, the Cyart army had already set out from the western side of East Coast Province, officially entering the borders of the Rhea Kingdom to support the Rhea Royal Family, who were in grave danger.

The Meyer family was very popular and had already garnered the support of most of the nobility and commoners in Rhea.

On the other hand, the Rhea Royal Family, who once ruled over the Rhea People with an iron fist, had lost the support of most people. They could only invite foreign troops to help them reclaim their ruling position.

“However, before returning to the Cyart Royal Army, I’m going to visit my father and mother first.”

Darren took a carriage with his children and wife to Fein City to visit his mother, Margaret, pay a visit to Viscount Bast, and then return to Nasir Town to meet with both of his lovers successively, finally awaiting his father, who came back from work.

He quickly learned from his father that the leaders of the Dagger Brotherhood, Moore’s two younger brothers, had also reached the 2nd Rank of the Path of Calamity, the “Thunder Attendants.”

And Uncle Chris and Aunt Vanessa had temporarily left Nasir Town to search for a ritual that would advance Aunt Vanessa and Moore to the 3rd Rank of the Path of World Order.

Not only Chris and Vanessa were in search of ritual requirements, but also Yeager and Archibald from the Daybreakers, who had both finished digesting the current phase of their consecution powers.

They were also attempting to find the rituals needed for the 3rd Rank of the Path of Conquest and the Path of Calamity.

Archibald and his silver descendant wife had already had two children, and what began as a marriage of convenience for them had now become unexpectedly harmonious.

Meanwhile, Yeager, who worked as an official at Fein City Hall, had also successfully married a daughter of a major merchant from the East Coast and had quickly had a child.

Fischer smiled at his son, Darren, “Good news, it won’t be long before the Fischer family adds four Extraordinary Exponents who have reached the 3rd Rank!”

Darren nodded lightly, offering a smile in return, and deep inside felt more than ever that the missing substance in the Fischer family had slowly been filled.

He couldn’t help but ponder over something and said to his father, Fischer,

“Even though I haven’t fully grasped the Power of ‘Specter,’ I can’t help but think about what the 3rd Rank of the Path of Shadow might be.”

“I have a feeling it won’t be anything good…”