After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 31.2

They would never know that the value stopped at 94 because the gray cat had intervened to hold it there. If the value had been allowed to continue soaring, who knows what the final result would have been.

And with a spiritual power of 94, based on this point alone, Xiu Si was bound to be a figure the magic world had to take seriously, regardless of his specific level and magical proficiency.

Because strong spiritual power meant being able to research new knowledge with relatively low risk.

Think about it, who wouldn’t want, who wouldn’t fight over talents who could research new knowledge!

If this value got out, even the number one human empire would come to snatch him.

Several magicians’ minds went blank, completely stunned on the spot.

It took Oror quite a while to calm down, cold sweat streaming down his forehead, nearly unable to stand steady.

He couldn’t be blamed for overreacting, mainly because this kind of situation might not be encountered even once in a lifetime.

Especially since all of the other person’s performances so far had been very normal, without a trace of the arrogance of a powerful individual.

Typically, top figures in any field would have some pride, but Xiu Si didn’t give him that feeling at all.

This young man gave such a comfortable feeling that you wouldn’t think of him as distant at all.

One look at Xiu Si’s expression, and Oror knew that Xiu Si hadn’t expected his value to be so high either.

In fact, Xiu Si was stunned. Before his system broke down, he remembered his spiritual power value was 71. How had it suddenly shot up so high after several thousand years?

Could it be that he had grown even during that period of “death”?

He fell into deep thought.

Nearby, Oror finally calmed down and broke the silence, “Mr. Xiu Si, your spiritual power value is truly extraordinary. It’s no wonder Great Mentor Matros took notice of you.”

Xiu Si turned his head, meeting Oror’s blue eyes, “I’m a bit surprised myself.”

Oror said, “This is a good thing, Mr. Xiu Si. It means you’ll have great achievements in magic, especially in developing new magic.”

Xiu Si slowly digested this, smiling, “Mm, thank you for letting me understand my situation. I’ll work hard to improve myself.”

Knowing he had such an extraordinary aspect yet remaining calm and unruffled. Fushan stared blankly at Xiu Si, as if she had never seen such a person before.

His mental state was too stable. This made their shock seem like an overreaction.

While they were thinking, Xiu Si picked up the gray cat, as if checking if it had touched anything it shouldn’t have, squeezing its paws.

There were so many cursed items here, he was worried his child might be affected.

Oror thought for a moment, then couldn’t help asking, “Mr. Xiu Si, if I may ask, what’s your view on the Aust Empire?”

Many people knew that Xiu Si was an amnesiac rescued from the abyss by Priest Xilin, meaning he wasn’t a citizen of the Aust Empire.

With such powerful talent, anyone from the Aust Empire would inevitably want to recruit him to their country.

In some great empires, they might even directly detain him.

The researchers instantly became tense, because what Xiu Si said now could potentially affect the empire’s fate.

The air fell silent, many people becoming rigid.

In this space, perhaps only the gray cat in Xiu Si’s arms was relaxed.

The gray cat’s emerald eyes surveyed the scene, subtly exuding an air of authority.

Xiu Si was clearly thinking, and after a few seconds, he still answered.

“I probably don’t want to belong to any specific country.”

Oror paused, his expression changing slightly, a flash of disappointment in his eyes, but he also showed understanding, saying in a voice only Xiu Si could hear, “You’re right, it’s better not to get entangled with the Aust Empire at this time. With your talent, you should shine in a larger arena.”

This was the second time someone had said this. Those in the know in the Aust Empire all knew that peril was approaching.

Xiu Si fell silent, inevitably feeling somewhat concerned.

Afterwards, Oror didn’t mention this matter again, but enthusiastically taught him various magical theories and knowledge, familiarizing him with the major buildings of the Magicians Association.

Oror said, “The Magicians Associations around the world are more or less the same, with basically the same structure as here – reception hall, research institute, practice field, library, magic laboratory, and so on. Our Aust Empire’s Magicians Association ranks 39th in the world, with two great magicians, twelve senior magicians, over a hundred intermediate magicians, more than three thousand junior magicians, and tens of thousands of apprentice magicians.”

In his description, magicians were divided into five ranks, but actually, there were even more powerful strategic-level magicians above great magicians.

Excluding non-human beings and missing persons, there were currently only ten in the whole world, all renowned national strategic-level figures.

Among them, one person had single-handedly established and defended a country. With powerful knowledge and unlimited methods, this one person alone had pushed the country’s ranking to seventh place, creating history, shocking to hear. Even the Divine Kingdom of Light, which previously loved to wage wars everywhere, didn’t dare to wage war against them.

The power of one person, comparable to a god, was awe-inspiring.

Their name was Arnold, and they were a student of the Abyss Lord Agares.

Oror supplemented Xiu Si with a lot of knowledge, as well as more important common sense.

Xiu Si listened attentively, remembering everything in his heart.

Later, he inadvertently sighed, “Human magic has truly developed.”

His words contained many sighs, as if he had once witnessed a time when human magic was non-existent.

Oror turned his head in disbelief, seeing Xiu Si’s somewhat complex gaze, and suddenly paused.

There was always a reason for high values. Perhaps this young man’s value was so high because he had experienced hardships unimaginable to ordinary people, slowly improving.

He was certainly not an ordinary person, with an unknown past.

It wasn’t until the afternoon, as the sky was darkening, that Xiu Si left the Magicians Association.

Oror and Fushan saw him off at the door.

After a while, there was suddenly a commotion from the street. They turned to look and saw that people from the military had arrived.

And it was even the Legion Commander Philip.

Oror was surprised, but Philip walked towards him.

Oror knew he must have something to discuss, so he asked, “What’s the matter?”

Philip had rushed over, looking somewhat flustered. Hearing Oror’s question, he strangely turned to look down the street, paused for a few seconds before saying in a low voice, “Did that person just leave?”

Oror sensed something subtle, because Philip’s voice carried a hint of awe that was not easily detectable.

“He just left. Do you have business with Mr. Xiu Si?”

Philip took a breath and turned his eyes, saying, “I heard he was at the Magicians Association all day.”

Oror: “Yes, that’s correct.”

Philip then asked about the specifics of what he did at the Magicians Association.

Oror was puzzled but told him everything. Any magician could answer these questions.

Philip pondered for a long time, considering this might be what’s called a “super-grade being experiencing life”, and expressed appreciation for Oror’s enthusiasm and attentiveness.

“Well done, that person should be served well.”

Oror was even more bewildered. The military people were becoming increasingly incomprehensible.

Philip’s expression suddenly became heavy, as if he had thoughts he couldn’t express, almost driving him crazy.

As an acquaintance of about ten years, Oror felt Philip’s behavior today was the strangest he’d ever seen.

But before he could ask anything, Philip shook his head and said, “No, that’s not for me to say. If Aelioge knew, the Aust Empire might accelerate towards destruction.”

Oror was completely lost, and saw Philip with a worried expression, saying earnestly, “We still need to find our own solutions.”

Oror’s mind was full of question marks. What was all this about?

Half an hour later.

Philip returned to the military hall to find almost all of the empire’s high-level officials present.

The great magician Eilinson, the other two legion commanders… and the legendary hero Luo Jie.

Luo Jie sat silently at the head of the round table, but his aura dominated the entire scene.

Others nearby didn’t dare to breathe loudly.

It was Philip’s first time being so close to Hero Luo Jie, and he couldn’t help but feel excited, hope rising in his eyes.

Yes, our Aust Empire has a hero, isn’t that enough for us to stand up with confidence?

However, Philip had still underestimated the severity of this full high-level assembly.

Seeing that most people had arrived, Eilinson remained silent for half a minute before finally beginning to explain the situation.

— About the impending arrival of the otherworld god, and the likely unavoidable national crisis.

Philip had thought that under a series of military actions, they could at least reverse the situation a bit. However, he never expected that there would be no good news at all.

Especially the terrifying threat of not just the nation’s destruction but also the extinction of their people – even migrating to foreign countries or fleeing to the ends of the earth would be useless.

After the three-hour long meeting ended, the military hall remained silent for a long time, until Luo Jie finally broke the silence.

Luo Jie suddenly stood up and said calmly yet authoritatively, “I will do my utmost to protect the Aust Empire. Please, everyone, perform your duties and complete your respective tasks. Whether or not Her Highness Sarah can return in time, don’t worry excessively.”

Everyone immediately tensed up, not daring to miss a single word.

Hero Luo Jie, at his peak, was a powerful existence that even gods feared. Today, his willingness to risk his life for them was already a great honor.

After the meeting.

Luo Jie walked to a balcony and slowly raised his head to gaze at the sky.

Tonight was cloudless with a full moon.

He seemed to be reminiscing about something, his eyes deep. After a long while, he said, “After I die, I won’t be able to go to the abyss every year to look for you anymore.”

Under the same sky.

Xiu Si seemed to sense something and also looked up at the moon.

It had been snowing these days, with clouds covering the sky. It was rare to have a night where one could see the moon.

He suddenly missed the days of adventure from the past.

He wondered if the missing companions were still alive, and where the only one who hadn’t disappeared was living and what kind of life they had.

Having lived for so many years, it should be time to let go and retire.

But Xiu Si was more or less worried because in his impression, Luo Jie was a person who cared a lot about others’ opinions. If others had expectations of him, he would unconsciously try to meet those expectations, spending a long time trying to play the role of a “hero”.

He clearly wasn’t that kind of person by nature.

It’s hard to say whether this was good or bad. One can only say that people have their own ways of living, and as an outsider, it’s difficult to say anything.

However, he seemed to have said something to Luo Jie unintentionally back then.

— “Just treat it like you’re playing a game. No one knows you here.” 

— “Are you tired? Sometimes you can rely on your companions too, you know.”

Things like that.

Xiu Si felt that back then, he was like a cheerleader for the atmosphere, specializing in cheering on his companions. After all, he couldn’t do anything else, so he could only help everyone with his words.

He didn’t know if those words he said had any effect, or if they instead troubled everyone.

Xiu Si lowered his eyes. Now he was getting stronger, but his past companions were nowhere to be found.

A few minutes later, he walked back to the room and saw the two cats seemingly talking about something, their paws patting back and forth.

“What’s going on?”

Both cats looked over at the same time, saying they were sharing their experiences from today.

Xiu Si smiled contentedly. “You two seem to be getting along better than before.”

The gray and red cats paused for a moment.

Fortunately, Xiu Si didn’t dwell on this topic, as he thought of something else.

“Oh right, that little black bird.”

He finally remembered, and released the little black bird from the box.

As soon as the little black bird came out, it lively walked and hopped around everywhere, as if getting used to this new body. Upon seeing the cats, it immediately retreated a few steps.

Xiu Si: “How is it? Are you alright?”

The little black bird immediately turned around, puffing out its chest proudly, nodding vigorously to express its great satisfaction.

Xiu Si was also amazed, after all, this was the first time he had seen consciousness transplantation, and he didn’t know if there would be any after-effects.

He asked, “Is there anything uncomfortable or unusual?”

The little black bird was very satisfied. Its previous divine body was full of curses, and it had nearly died. Now with a brand new body, it truly felt reborn, with life force surging!

Seeing how happy it was, Xiu Si smiled and said, “By the way, what’s your name?”

Before he finished speaking, the excited little black bird suddenly went quiet, as if this question had hit its weak spot.

It didn’t know how to answer.

The two cats blinked, seeming to know why, their gazes somewhat sympathetic.

Seeing the little black bird’s silence, Xiu Si sat closer and asked, “Can’t you say?”

The little black bird paused, shaking its head. It wasn’t that it couldn’t say, it was that it didn’t have one.

The God of Darkness doesn’t have a name, or rather, the God of Darkness’s name is simply the God of Darkness.

But the God of Darkness has had so many consciousnesses, how could “God of Darkness” possibly be its own name?

It had never thought about this before, and once it did, it began to feel troubled.

A name…As a god, not having a name seemed not quite right.

Just then, Xiu Si suddenly said, “Hodur.”

The little black bird was stunned.

Xiu Si looked into its gray eyes and asked, “Is it okay if I call you Hodur?”

In Western mythology, it was the name of the god of darkness corresponding to the god of light.

The little black bird’s wings trembled, its small eyes seemingly glistening with tears, and it suddenly pounced over!