Chapter 242: Awakening (2)

The blooming flower and spirit crystal on Lapis' chest had disappeared, most likely having returned to her body. There were some changes to her; her body was still slender and thin, like a fragile greenhouse flower that was unable to withstand any damage. However, Rhode and Gillian felt surging spiritual powers within her. It could be said that even though Lapis still had a weak constitution, her spirit had already turned indomitable.

Other than the changes within her body, her appearance had changed slightly too. Her forehead appeared to have a silver-made accessory of an inverted triangle. The thin, long necklace hung down from both sides of her forehead. On her chest, the tattoo-like accessory extended from her collarbone to her neck, which gave her a peculiar look and a sense of beauty which didn't belong to this world.

"Are you sure waking her up is a good idea? Master?" Gillian was hesitant of this idea. "We have no idea what happened to her in the end and how her current situation is. Are you sure she won't smash us away as soon as she opens her eyes? The spiritual power in her body now is extremely powerful and very odd to me. Her current powers seemed to be on par with the Mages and Clerics at the moment."

Gillian twitched her delicate nose as she spoke. "Also, there is also a metallic smell. What if she becomes a terminator?"

"At least it's still better than Smith." Rhode checked on the data regarding Lapis as he answered Gillian's questions. Soon enough, Lapis' attributes floated in his face.

Lapis

Race: Behermes (Perfect)

Talent Reward: Induction, fusion ability

Talent Punishment: Lowered individual strength

Job: Alchemist (Advanceable) / Ranger Apprentice

Hidden Attribute: Spirit Alchemy, Spiritual Energy

Alchemy Technique: LV MAX

Mastery: ?? Potions & Equipment Making

Body Condition: Healthy

There were indeed changes.

Rhode twitched his eyebrows as he read her attributes. The hidden attributes of the Spirit Alchemy and Spiritual Energy had been released. And not only that; Lapis' Alchemy Technique had also hit LV MAX. This was a huge change and Rhode could confirm that it was due to the absorption of the Behermes dead spirits' powers and some unknown knowledge. Also, with the word "Advanceable" behind the word "Alchemist"... If this was truly Lapis' unique mission, then this mission's reward would indeed be really generous.

The upgrade of levels in a Production Class wouldn't be as dangerous as that of battling classes. She could gain advancement as long as she improved her levels in production techniques. And it was due to this that the production advancement was much harder than battling advancements. Most battling classes could advance when they reached level 20. But the advancement for production jobs was only possibly at level 30. This was the reason why production players were rare and in demand. After all, not many players sat around and practice the same old procedure over and over again. However, those that lasted until the end gained a lot of respect from other players.

Therefore, Lapis could gain advancement just based off this mission. This meant that she could advance from an Alchemist to an Alchemist Master. If this was true, then it would mean good news for Rhode because an Alchemist Master could produce many more varieties of products and possessed much stronger alchemy skills.

However, Gillian's worries weren't for naught. Lapis' abilities had leaped so much in one day, and such an odd phenomenon definitely included some hidden negative influences. Just as Gillian had mentioned, nobody knew if Lapis was still herself. However, Rhode wasn't worried about this point at all.

"I don't understand Lapis too much in the first place." He looked at the maiden's face and said. "So, even though she changed, I'm still fine with it. Besides, I don't think there will be any dangers."

It was no easy feat to wake Lapis up.

After the maiden opened her eyes, she was totally lost. Her eyes were lifeless and she seemed to not have recovered from her previous, shocking encounters. Rhode tried many things, including shaking her shoulders and even gave her a few merciless slaps across the face, but all of them were meaningless as she stared blankly without any reactions.

"Master, I don't agree to such abusive methods..."

Gillian shook her tail and ears as she hopelessly looked at Lapis. The bright red palm imprints across Lapis's cheeks proved just how much strength Rhode used in his smacks.

"If you continue to slap her this way, I'm afraid Miss Lapis will become an idiot even before she wakes up to her senses."

"You're right."

Rhode felt that his method was useless in triggering a response from Lapis. However, there were many more methods in waking someone up.

"Since the hard way didn't work, let's do it the soft way."

"Soft?" Gillian's expression slightly changed. "Master, you..."

Before Gillian could finish her sentence, Rhode had extended his right hand and squeezed Lapis' chin. Then, he lifted her head up. He pressed his lips on the maiden's.

Rhode pried open the maiden's mouth and his tongue went deep inside.

Lapis let out a violent shiver and her blank eyes regained their focus. She seemed to instinctively respond to Rhode. Her small tongue intertwined with Rhode's and she let out a soft moan. Afterwards, Rhode pulled himself away from her and she finally realized what she had done.

What was I doing?

Lapis stared foolishly at the black-haired young man. All she felt was a burning sensation across her face and the residue of an unforgettable sensation on her lips...

"L-L-L-Leader, w-w-what did you do?!"

Lapis jumped up and pointed at Rhode with her shaky finger. Her face was as red as a tomato. As though nothing had happened, Rhode turned to Gillian, who was stunned in place.

"It seems like fairy tales are kind of useful, aren't they?"

Rhode said. What responded to him was a loud smack.

—!

The crisp, strong slap resounded in the entire place, and even the pond rippled...

A minute had passed.

"Alright, don't mind it, Lapis. You did well. Everything's fine!"

Gillian waved her small fist and comforted as Lapis worriedly glanced over to Rhode, who was rubbing his own cheek. At last, she summoned up her courage and nodded slightly. Although the maiden had finally cleared her head, the stimulation that Rhode had given her left her brain in a complete havoc... To a maiden who hadn't fall in love yet, putting her straight into such a high level of intensity was indeed too stimulating for her.

However, now wasn't the time for this.

Although Lapis was blushing and Gillian was rejoicing in Rhode's misfortunes, he didn't feel like he had done anything wrong. The palm imprint on his cheek wasn't able to change him one bit. Soon enough, he got right back into the most important topic. Firstly, he had to be aware of what was going on in Lapis' body.

Lapis was at a loss herself facing Rhode's questions. She didn't feel like she had changed much. However, the experiences and knowledge of an alchemist in her mind had improved greatly. They contained things that she had never learnt and all of them were floating in her head now. Not only that, but Lapis also realised that she had an amazing ability. She could start her alchemy productions using her spiritual powers without any tools. However, that would require her to use up a large amount of mental strength, which was still challenging for her.

Rhode finally understood the situation after hearing her explanation.

The giant of light must have been the core of the Behermes central. After he was defeated by Rhode, the Behermes powers that had lost its core needed a new vessel and detected Lapis' spirit crystal. After all, no matter what, Lapis was still a fresh breath of life and the liveliness of her spiritual powers definitely was much more active than those of the corpses trapped within the crystal ball. As a result, the powers and experiences that had lost control went right into her body and became a part of her. In other words, Lapis had the entire knowledge of the Behermes Family now. It would just depend on how she used them thereafter.

As for Lapis' character, Rhode realized that there weren't many changes, especially in her reactions when she had just woken up.

However, the amount of strength in her slap wasn't weak at all...

"So then..."

After concluding Lapis' situation, Rhode let his hair down and pointed toward the accessory on the maiden's forehead.

"This thing; do you know what's it for?

"This?" Lapis unknowingly touched the inverted triangle accessory on the middle of her forehead and closed her eyes in deep thoughts. "This... Leader, I'm not too sure. But, if I recall correctly, this should be a secret artifact that belonged to the Behermes Family: the Composition Adornment."

Oh?

Rhode twitched his eyebrows.