This three-story brick building was rather old and outdated. It was built in the style of three centuries ago. The steps on the building had been washed clean, but they still had the smell of time. The decorative murals depicted the heroic deeds of the Mist Kingdom's ancestors. The worn murals still had the smell of paint on them. This was the result of a recent renovation.
In front of this building, under a pine tree, there was a flat garden and empty ground.
The rusty brass railings sealed off this small world. There was still some green grass in the flowerbed, but at this time, only some withered grass and branches were left.
"Back in the day, I practiced my swordsmanship under this tree …"
This was a quiet corner of the Donglan Principality's imperial palace. This was also where I and a certain idiot lived back in the day.
When I was confirmed to still be alive, Kelly opened up this dusty courtyard and had people clean it up and move in new furniture. Eight years ago, when I returned to the Northlands, this place was still under reconstruction. Kelly didn't tell me about it. This time, when I returned, the palace's butler, Kelly, directly arranged for me to return to this courtyard, which gave me a pleasant surprise.
The building was the same as before, and the garden was the same as before. Even the iron railings still had scratches left behind when I compared the height of the two youths … By the way, we were twins now, so was there any meaning in comparing?
I felt like my past memories had just happened yesterday. Looking at this scene that was almost identical to my memories, was this what it felt like to be home? However, the empty old scenery made me feel a little lonely, and I felt a little sad.
I could no longer remember what my parents looked like, nor could I remember the lessons from back in the day. However, these rusty and scattered memories had survived because they weren't too important. Should I be happy?
"How annoying …"
* Click. *
The rusty railings were opened, and the metallic sound interrupted my thoughts. I looked over to see that it was the current ruler of this palace, Her Highness Renée.
"You, you, you, you, you … who are you? Is it Big Brother Roland? "
I paused in surprise for a moment before coming to a realization. I hurriedly adjusted the time accessory and changed my physical body's age to around 20 years old.
"Oh, this is a small toy that Marguerite made. It can adjust your physical body's age."
It was a perfect lie. Although everything I said was the truth, my actions and expression made it seem like I was saying that I was using this accessory to change my physical body's age.
Reyne slowly nodded as a strange smile appeared on her face, as if she had seen through everything. Damn it, I had forgotten that these ape-type creatures all use their muscles to think and their instincts to distinguish truth from falsehood.
"Oh, what's that? I seem to remember … Dusk Fruit?"
Although I said it as a question, I sounded certain. After all, this fruit that looked like a grimacing skull was far too shabby. Although it tasted alright, I felt quite awkward every time I bit into it … I could sense that the designer of this fruit was filled with evil intentions. This was most likely Amelia's handiwork.
I was regretting my decision. I had already ordered the guards to not let anyone else in, so that I could boldly eat the fruits here and get used to my new body. However, I hadn't considered how the palace's guards would be able to expel the master of the palace. It was likely that with a single gesture from her, the guards wouldn't even need to notify me.
Well, at this point, what I'm doing hiding here alone is pretty much revealed.
That's right, I was hiding here to eat the Dusk Fruit … the Dusk Fruit. However, the effects of the Dusk Fruit weren't something that could be accomplished in a single sitting.
Every time I ate one, I would need to spend some time to adapt to the changes in my physical body. This was to prevent my physical body from changing too drastically, which would cause my soul and body to become incompatible. I also had to prevent myself from eating too many Dusk Fruits in one sitting and turning into a magical version of Urashima Taro. It had already been half a month since the Dusk Fruit began, and I had only eaten ten Dusk Fruits. That was an increase of 50 years … But to be honest, I had already given up on this bloodline. When I looked in the mirror, I felt like I was in the fourth grade of elementary school, and that I was still far away from graduating from elementary school.
However, these Dusk Fruits were indeed effective. I could feel that my limbs were much stronger than before, and my mind seemed to be much clearer. If I used my System's system to explain this, then my 50 years of age meant that I had obtained the effects of "Strength + 1" and "Intelligence + 1". This was a tremendous improvement.
Every time I asked my damned System how old my bloodline would be when it would reach adulthood, it would always mysteriously change the topic or play dumb, which made me feel even more uneasy.
From a certain standpoint, this world was still somewhat fair. The more powerful a bloodline was, the more difficult it would be for it to reproduce, and the more time it would take for it to reach adulthood. Dragons, Titans, and giants were the best examples. Elves would also take one or two hundred years to reach adulthood, while Gold Elves with a Gold Bloodline would take one or two thousand years to reach adulthood … I felt more and more that the moon elves were bastards back in the day. They actually dared to bully a girl whose father had died before she reached adulthood.
A Silver Bloodline would take one or two hundred years to reach adulthood. Many Gold Bloodlines would take more than a thousand years to reach adulthood. As for Diamond Bloodlines … theoretically speaking, it would be quite normal for a Double Diamond Bloodline to take more than ten thousand years to reach adulthood.
"Venerated Goddess, if it really takes more than ten thousand years to reach adulthood, believe it or not, I'll take you down with me! What were you thinking back then! "
[Tsk, you're trying to push the blame onto me now? Back in the day, who was the one who went around searching for the strongest bloodline? I kindly added my and Cynthia's bloodline into your bloodline. You should be grateful.]
These words didn't make me happy at all. Instead, I felt even more despair. I knew that something was wrong with this situation. The Goddess of Creation's bloodline had been casually given to me by her. It couldn't be a hundred thousand years of adulthood, right? If so, what was the point of having a powerful bloodline?
"… Let's not talk about the increase in strength after adulthood. I've been single for more than three hundred years. Don't tell me you're really planning to cheat me for tens of thousands of years. "
[… I don't think so. Cynthia and I were already adults when we were born. Back then, I didn't think that I would turn you into this …]
It was rare for my System to have a guilty conscience in her words, as if she had revealed some secret to me. So it turned out that my current state wasn't because she intentionally tricked me, but because it was an unexpected accident. However, I couldn't bring myself to be happy about this. From another perspective, the situation had completely spiraled out of control, which meant that I couldn't count on my System at all.
I was even more displeased, but what was surprising was that the System actually took the initiative to admit defeat.
[Don't be like that. I can actually compensate you. Weren't you looking for the Spring of the Drowned Woman? I can give you one.]
"You can do that as well? Wait a moment, I wasn't looking for the Spring of the Drowned Woman. It was Kolos who was looking for the Spring of the Drowned Man. "
[It's the same. In the words of my previous world, it's just changing a person's stats. It's quite simple. But if you help me with something, I'll give you the quest reward … reward.]
"What?"
I was rather astonished. This was the first time that my System had given me a quest of her own volition. I could sense the anxiety in her voice. Just what could make the Creator Goddess of Chaos so nervous? Could it be that my next quest was to challenge a Chaos Main God? Or was it to poach a Supreme Immemorial Dragon King?
[Help me pour the Spring of the Drowned Woman on that subordinate of yours! I can sense that those elves and divine beasts are currently giving birth to terrifying creatures. This world is chaotic enough as it is. I absolutely can't allow even stranger creatures to be born! Absolutely not! Why would such a bastard appear in this world? I can't take it anymore! He's definitely not one of my creations!]
I was astonished. Beifeng was far too inconceivable. He was actually able to make the Creator Goddess of Chaos scream so hysterically. It would seem that his descendants were creatures that greatly defied common sense and normal aesthetics.
At that time, two magic bottles suddenly appeared out of thin air, one blue and one red. Even the quest item and reward were given to me in advance. This didn't seem like the petty System at all. It would seem that she had truly been astonished by the top of the Calamity Rankings.
Using the Spring of the Drowned Woman on Beifeng? Just imagining that scene would be indescribably beautiful.
And why did I feel that even if he was changed by the Spring of the Drowned Woman, my System would still fail, and he would still be blinded in the end … Still, there was no harm in trying. At any rate, I wouldn't be the unlucky one.
As for refusing? I kept thinking about it, but couldn't find a reason to refuse. This would be so interesting … Cough, I meant that I was doing justice for the heavens. Perhaps I could even be removed from the Calamity Rankings because of this.
"Brother Roland, are you practicing your sword techniques?"
Renée's words brought me back to my senses. However, I carefully glanced at the red and blue bottles in my dimensional storage again. If these two bottles broke, it would be quite a joke.
Reyne's question was still echoing in my ears, so I nodded my head in response. What other explanation could there be for this half-naked person standing in the middle of an empty space other than practicing swordsmanship? Could it be that I could explain that I was afraid of accidentally transforming into my clothes?
I nodded, but Renée had a delighted expression.
"In that case, Brother Roland, let me practice with you. I've improved quite a bit over the past few years."
I glanced at my surroundings and then smiled. Then, I nodded as I said …
"I refuse. I'm not going to fight against an idiot who can't completely control his power. If his power leaks out, this entire courtyard will be destroyed. This place is incredibly important to me …"
I didn't need to say the second half of my sentence. I unhesitatingly refused. Seeing how Renée didn't hesitate to hide her disappointment, I actually felt rather happy.
"… Right, Brother Roland, I heard that you're going to revive Ansuna?"
This was probably why she had come to find me. I nodded. Since she had already begun her preparations, it was only natural that everyone was talking about it.
"Um … I heard that only natural undead can be revived?"
Renée's eyes were filled with expectation. It seemed that she wanted to get a different answer from me. I frowned. I pretty much knew why she had come here.
"You want to revive your family?"
"… Yeah."
"I can't do it. No other existence can."
Several minutes later, I became even more afraid as I watched Renée's dispirited and disappointed figure.
Indeed, I hadn't lied, but I hadn't told the complete truth either. At the very least, I had lied about the natural undead's limitations. My revival abilities were far stronger than what I had shown them.
Renée had a strong will, but even she couldn't resist the temptation of reviving her family. If I had told her that I could revive a person who had died for a short period of time, then the entire world would probably have gone insane. Countless powerful individuals and kings whose family had just died or were about to die would come looking for trouble with me.
"… Fortunately, I made preparations in advance. However, I still need to be prepared to deal with trouble."
Even if I told her about the limitations of reviving, there would always be people who would see through my lies. Or, there would be people who hoped that it was possible to revive their family members. As long as ten Level 4 existences like that came, they would definitely be quite fierce. I would still be in quite a bit of trouble.
"In that case, let's make this revival even grander. Make it so grand that the vast majority of people won't be able to afford it …"
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