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Chapter 97: I Might Be Strong Now, But I’m Poor!

Victoria and Ponte were also from the Xeclydes and the Ascarts, so their behavior implicitly formed an example for Nora and Roel to follow, almost like role models.

Just that they were negative role models.

Just thinking of the way Victoria had Ponte tightly in her grasp made Roel feel deeply uncomfortable. He swore to himself that he would never end up suffering the same plight as his ancestor. That said, their interactions did spawn a sliver of doubt in his mind. While Ponte hadn’t shown it explicitly, it was apparent that he had Victoria in his heart. Yet, the two of them still ended up parting ways in the end?

Roel scratched his head in confusion. Could it be that the modified portions of history weren’t just limited to Wade? Perhaps, there had been some tampering over on Victoria’s side too. He didn’t think that the two lovebirds, who thought of dying together under Wade’s blade, would later actually split apart.

Should I look through Ponte’s diaries to find out?

Such a thought did flash across Roel’s mind for an instant, but he immediately shook his head reflexively. It was almost as if his mind was subconsciously rejecting the diaries, so that he could keep his mental sanity.

“Forget it, it’s too humiliating to read that stuff. Besides, I have something more important to deal with...”

Roel muttered to himself as his eyes slowly turned sharp.

Aside from power and knowledge, there was another important thing that Roel obtained from the Witness State—military intelligence. He learned that Felder Elric was the same person as Bryan Elric. He didn’t think that it was possible for the Calamity of Bloodshed to have made a mistake.

So far, Roel hadn’t told Nora about this matter, because he didn’t have any evidence to back up his words, and this piece of information was completely useless back in the Witness State.

However, now that the two of them had returned, the confidential information was, without a doubt, worth its weight in gold. It was just that there was still one, small, persnickety issue, and that was...

... he still didn’t have any evidence.

It had been more than a century since the March Turmoil, and Felder’s existence had already been buried beneath the dust of history. There were no articles of evidence or eye-witnesses left that Roel could use to corroborate his story, and his one-sided words weren’t powerful enough to achieve anything. If he recklessly made a move without planning things out thoroughly, he would only be unnecessarily alarming Bryan, making him more difficult to deal with.

Despite all that, it was not like Roel was completely helpless. Bryan was not some hermit crab who could freely change his shell to live forever. Someone who had managed to live so long was bound to have some dirt on him, and there was a good chance that dirt was an evil cult. Now, he just had to dig carefully.

Speaking of evil cults, the one behind the assassination attempt a week ago was paying a heavy price for its actions right now. Aside from the inquisitors dispatched by the church, his father, Marquess Carter, was not someone to be messed with either. He had divided his army into special task forces, and under the pretext of ‘eliminating a threat to the Theocracy’, he had them join in the hunt for the evil cultists.

Due to the incidents at Nora’s birthday banquet and the following reprisals, the Elric House had been severely weakened and would probably try to lie low for the time being. Considering this, Bryan was also unlikely to be able to pull anything in the short-run.

Therefore, Roel could rest easy for the time being. He slept well and ate well. After going through the horrors of war, he finally realized how much of a blessing it was just to be alive and eat good food.

Of course, he didn’t just squander all his time resting during this period. He was also preparing himself for a breakthrough to Origin Level 5. This was a huge hurdle to overcome, so he had to ensure that he was thoroughly ready. Typically speaking, a transcendent would have to head to the church to request a Compassion Origin Attribute ritual for the advancement, but it was slightly different for him due to his peculiar circumstances.

After awakening the Ascart Bloodline, Roel discovered that he had a Bloodline Origin Attribute, which, as the name suggested, was an Origin Attribute that was a perfect fit for his bloodline. It was relieving since, unlike heretical Origin Attributes, Bloodline Origin Attributes had a higher level of recognition in the Theocracy. After all, heretical Origin Attributes had influences from foreign gods, whereas Bloodline Origin Attributes are more specific to the individuals.

This was good fortune for Roel. Bloodline Origin Attributes are actually incredibly rare, and most bloodline possessors aren’t so lucky as to have one. More often than not, it was only found in noble houses with a long history behind them.

These were the following notifications that Roel received when he regained consciousness after escaping the Witness State:

【Evaluation: Perfect (102)】

【Bloodline awakening success.】

【You have obtained the bloodline: Kingmaker’s Bloodline (Bronze)】

【The bell chimes amidst the mist, granting direction to the lost. You have chosen to leap beyond spacetime to bring consolation to the deceased.】

【Degree of Bloodline Awakening: Perfect】

【Tracing Bloodline Origin Attribute.】

【Origin Attribute: Crown】

【The Origin Attribute will be bestowed when the user successfully advances to Origin Level 5.】

It was through this series of notifications from the System that Roel knew that his hard work hadn’t been in vain. It would appear that the only reason why he received a Bloodline Origin Attribute was due to his perfect awakening.

As the saying went, ‘a good steed requires a good saddle’. From this aspect, the Crown Origin Attribute was without a doubt Roel’s best choice, and it solved the issue of him being incompatible with the Three Main Origin Attributes.

In Roel’s view, becoming strong was necessary in order for him to break all of his death flags. He wouldn’t give up growing as a transcendent just because he was incompatible with the Three Main Origin Attributes. His initial intention was to use the alliance between the Ascarts and the Xeclydes as leverage to negotiate with the royal family to turn a blind eye to him being a heretic. However, now that he was set to obtain the Crown Origin Attribute, there was no need for him to do that anymore.

That wasn’t the only thing that delighted Roel though. On top of raising his potential, he had also obtained a powerful skill too.

【Wade’s Gift】

【In his final moments, the dying king has acknowledged your beliefs and cast aside his hatred, bringing him peace in the afterlife.】

【You have obtained army buff spell: Howl of Crimson Lightning】

【Fury toward injustice, buried deep in the hearts of the people; their wrath manifests as crimson lightning, roaring against the irrational world.】

【All allied soldiers in the vicinity will have their offensive and defensive prowess significantly enhanced, and they will be placed in a berserk state. The fighting prowess of soldiers in berserk state will be raised according to the predisposition of the individual. When the effect of the spell ends, there’s a high probability that buffed soldiers will fall into a fatigued state.】

When Roel saw this technique, he nearly leaped up in ecstasy. He was even more excited than when he first saw the Crown Origin Attribute, and the reason behind that was because of the words ‘army buff spell’.

Army buff spells were incredibly rare on the Sia Continent, such that anyone who possessed such a spell could easily take on a high-ranking position in the military. To put it in even more extreme terms, even an imbecile who knew nothing but an army buff spell would be headhunted by the military and paid handsomely. Of course, that person must be of a decent Origin Level, since such spells consumed a lot of mana.

There was a very practical reason why army buff spells were so highly valued. In simple terms, it was a matter of efficiency. Most armies had squads specializing in casting buffs, but their buff spells were all single target. The mana cost would be unimaginably high if they tried to buff an entire army soldier by soldier, so the ones who were usually buffed were just the elites.

On the other hand, the mana cost of army level spell buffs depended on the area covered, not the number of people affected. Some of the more potent multi-target buff spells could even be cast on an entire army.

There were downsides though—it was basically a trade-off between quality and quantity. The effectiveness of army buff spells at the individual level was much less when compared to individually targeted buffs. Nevertheless, the sheer scale of an army buff spell was more than enough to shift the tide during a battle. Even just a slight boost in stats for every soldier could create a huge variable in the outcome of a battle.

As Roel had already had illustrated to him, Wade’s army buff spell went far beyond ‘just a slight boost in stats’. It was a spell that he awakened during his breakthrough to Origin Level 2, and it fully showcased the burst power of the Wrath Origin Attribute. Every single soldier became unstoppable berserkers on the battlefield. With their sheer force, they tore a hole right through the defensive formation of Victoria’s soldiers with ease.

If utilized well, this army buff spell could become a weapon of mass destruction on the battlefield. He couldn’t help but feel gladdened that he chose Wade back then. Had he chosen Victoria instead, even if he gained a good spell too, it was unlikely to be one as useful as this.

On the whole, Roel was extremely satisfied with everything he had gained. His fighting prowess had definitely risen by a great deal, and he had gained several new trump cards to deal with the crises he would face in the uncertain future.

However, there was one thing that he had been wondering ever since he returned from the Witness State— where did Grandar go? It had been a week already, but the other party hadn’t appeared in his dreams, not even once. This felt unnatural as, in Roel’s view, Grandar was like a lonely, middle-aged man who enjoyed chatting with others. He wasn’t the type of person to put on airs and disappear for a long period of time.

In fact, even though it was just an inexplicable feeling, he sensed that his connection with Grandar had weakened considerably.

Roel spent some time pondering over this question, and he eventually came up with a hypothesis. Most likely, the Witness State served as a medium that strengthened the connection between him and Grandar, allowing them to meet and interact with one another. When the Witness State ended, the connection between them was significantly weakened, preventing them from reaching out to one another anymore.

That being said, as long as he obtained the Crown Origin Attribute, there was a good chance that he could strengthen the connection with Grandar once more.

“It looks like I’ll have to quickly reach Origin Level 5 and obtain the Crown Origin Attribute.”

Roel muttered to himself as he decided on a short-term goal. As for his long-term goal though...

【System Notification: You currently owe the System 500,000 gold coins.】

【Maturity date: 1815 days】

“Ah, son of a banshee! This is too much to repay!”

Seeing so many zeros in his account deficit made him feel like his head was going to explode. He might have profited a lot from the Witness State, but the price he had to pay was no joking matter either. Just this 500,000 gold coin loan was more than enough to plunge him into despair.

“You’re such a gold digger. Are you going to eat up all of the gold and mess up the economy in this world?”

【The gold taken in by the System will be redistributed into the gold mines around the world. The System commits itself to be a sustainable business, so the user does not need to worry about that.】

???

To put it in other words, you are collecting gold from me just for the sake of it? Aren’t you just toying with me here? It’s almost as if you’re asking me to construct a building, only to tear it down right after!

Thinking on the brighter side though, this also meant that Roel was single-handedly ensuring the sustainability of gold mining operations all over the Sia Continent, thus safeguarding the jobs of all miners! Surely such a feat was worthy of a Nobel prize?

With a deep sigh, Roel began calculating the possibility of returning the money on time.

Is it possible to get the Ascart House to fork out 500,000 gold coin? Mmm, it’s not entirely impossible, but how can I justify where the money is going to? Can I just tell father that I’m making a contribution to the gold mining operations all over the world? Hahaha, who would believe that...

Besides, if I suddenly take away so much money from the Ascart House, it could cause serious cash flow issues in the short-run. It seems like I’ll have to think of a way to somehow earn the money myself...

Roel felt that he had to sit down together with Carter to have a long chat about this.