That night, Amon came to the cold spring again, but not to bathe like usual. Usually, he would sit at the edge of the cold spring, soaking his body and washing his hair and face. But this time, Crazy 'Ole wanted him to dive into the depths of the cold spring to find the mouth of the spring. He wanted to find something special and bring it back.
As for what it was, Crazy 'Ole did not say.
The cold spring was piercingly cold. Under the moonlight, a layer of mist condensed on the surface of the water. It seemed to be steaming, but it was actually tiny water droplets condensed in the cold air close to the surface. In this bone-chilling water, ordinary people would have their teeth chattering after a few breaths. Even Amon needed courage to dive into the depths.
Amon took a deep breath and dove into the spring silently. He tried not to think about the piercing coldness and focused on feeling the weak water flow at the bottom, looking for the mouth of the spring. The center of the cold spring was not too deep, about the height of two grown men. That was enough for Amon to drown.
In the depths of the spring, the chill seemed boundless, and the heat in his body was rapidly draining away. Amon tried his best not to tremble and twitch, but every pore on his body was contracting and trembling, and every muscle fiber was trembling rapidly and weakly.
It was difficult to concentrate in this situation, but Amon did it. He felt that the seemingly calm spring was flowing slowly in the depths. He traced the flow back to the source. The source of the cold spring was overflowing from a pile of pebbles at the bottom. Suddenly, Amon felt a deeper coldness in the bone-chilling coldness.
It was a subtle difference that was hard to distinguish because his body was already freezing. Amon touched a stone, which looked like a mineral core. When he tried to concentrate on feeling it, his body suddenly shivered uncontrollably and he almost choked on the water. The coldness that he did not pay attention to before was suddenly awakened and crazily drilled into his body.
It was not that the spring water had become colder, but that Amon seemed to have communicated with the source of the coldness, awakening and amplifying that feeling. For a moment, he almost could not bear it. He only wanted to leave this place as soon as possible, and he even suspected that he would be frozen in the spring water.
However, Amon did not leave. There was a warm current rising in his body, spreading throughout his bones and limbs. This reaction usually only appeared when he left the cold spring and sat down to rest, but now it appeared in the spring. It meant that he had stayed long enough and was about to exceed a certain limit. His body had instinctively protected itself and awakened a kind of power.
Amon grasped the pebble, which was the size of an ore core, but he couldn't lift it. It looked like a rock that had fallen into the water, but it seemed to be fixed in place by a mysterious force, in a state of stalemate.
Amon, who was holding his breath, concentrated all of his spirit. In an instant, the cold and hot currents in his body seemed to be under his control. His whole body was trembling rapidly, and his chest was suffocating. His right hand released an astonishing amount of power. Suddenly, he felt the pebble was lifted. Amon's body jumped out of the water and landed with a plop, still holding the stone tightly in his hand.
He climbed back to the shore, but he did not care about the pebble. Instead, he closed his eyes and sat there. He seemed to be motionless, but he felt that the blood in his body was flowing rapidly, and every pore was trembling in a way that the naked eye could not detect. The water droplets on his body evaporated, but the coldness in his body took a long time to slowly disperse.
He had only been in the water for a short time, but he felt very tired. He stood up and moved his limbs, his movements like strange gymnastics. After he calmed down, he began to carefully examine the pebble. It looked very much like a mineral core, but Amon had seen all kinds of mineral cores, so he couldn't help but feel that there was something different about it. Although it was similar to a natural pebble, it felt a little artificial, although it was made very skillfully.
When he felt it in the spring water, it was so cold, but now that he held it in his hand, it was only the normal coolness of a stone, and he could not feel anything unusual. Thinking of this, Amon suddenly realized that something was wrong. He put down the pebble and dived into the cold spring again. The water was still cold, but as Amon had guessed, the bone-chilling coldness was gradually dissipating.
So far, Amon should have finished Crazy 'Ole's task, but he did not stop. He dived into the cold spring again. This time, it was much easier than the last time. Soon, he grabbed a pebble in each hand and threw it to the shore. Then he took a breath and dived again. After throwing twenty pebbles in a row, he climbed back to the shore.
This time, he was freezing. His body was a little purple, and he was panting and shaking like a sieve. It took him a long time to recover. At this time, he felt that the moon seemed to be brighter, and a warm feeling enveloped him and slowly seeped into his body. He looked up and saw a parangon floating above him, emitting a soft light. When he looked back again, Crazy 'Ole was already standing behind him.
"Child, you'll hurt yourself. I didn't ask you to take out the whole magic formation. You just need to find the Aquaticore in the middle and use your power to take it out." As Crazy 'Ole spoke, the parangon hanging in the air became brighter. The soft white light seemed to turn into a thick mist, which gradually healed Amon's body. At the same time, there was an oppressive feeling that made him speechless.
"But you're even more outstanding than I thought. The reason I asked you to take out the Aquaticore is to test two abilities. First, your body must be able to withstand the cold spring and still be able to use your power without being disturbed. Second, your spirit and willpower must be strong enough to be able to detect the slightest changes in that environment. Only in this way can you awaken the power of two sides. "
As he spoke, Crazy 'Ole waved his short wand, and the twenty pebbles on the ground broke into pieces silently, as if someone had used a sledgehammer to crack open a mining core. The twenty parangons were exposed. As for the first pebble Amon took out, its surface rippled like water, and then it flowed like water into the sand, revealing a blue parangon in the middle.
Crazy 'Ole explained, "Thirty years ago, I used one Aquaticore and twenty parangons to set up a magic formation here to create this cold spring. Now its mission has been accomplished. Those pebbles are not natural ores, they're camouflage. I'm not surprised that you found the Aquaticore, but I'm surprised that you've found all the camouflaged pebbles. "
As he finished, the parangon fell from the air and was caught by Crazy 'Ole. The tranquil moonlight reflected on the surface of the water. Amon stood up and picked up the blue parangon, "It's called the Aquaticore?"
Crazy 'Ole nodded, "Yes. Different colors of parangons have their own names. The blue ones are called the Aquaticore by the mages."
As a child growing up in Duc, he certainly knew that there were four special parangons other than the colorless and transparent ones: red, blue, black and white. But this was the first time Amon had heard of the Aquaticore. These four special parangons were not as rare as the Gods' Tear, but they were still very rare. Even in a place like Duc, only a few were produced each year. If luck was not on your side, you might not even see one for several years.
Last time Amon mined the Gods' Tear, but it was taken away by Judah before he had the chance to examine it. Today was the first time he had a chance to study the special parangons other than the standard ones. As he was playing with the parangon, he found that Crazy 'Ole had turned and left.
"Where are you going?" Amon called after him.
"Home to sleep, of course! I was afraid that something might have happened to you in the cold spring, so I came to take a look, ready to save you at any time. Since you're fine, I can have a good sleep. "Crazy 'Ole answered without looking back.
"What about these parangons? You're not taking them with you?" Amon called again.
"I threw them here thirty years ago. I never thought of taking them away. You took them out, so they're yours. They'll be useful in the future. Tomorrow night, at the same time, in the same place, I'll hold the awakening ceremony for you. Don't forget. "As his voice faded away, Crazy 'Ole disappeared into the Black Fire Thicket.
After Crazy 'Ole left, Amon sat by the spring and studied the Aquaticore. When he tried to concentrate on it, he always felt a mysterious power fluctuating between the parangon and the spring. Something in his body was stirring, as if it was something he longed for. His mind wandered again.
… …
The next night, the 'awakening ceremony' Crazy 'Ole held for Amon turned out to be a kind of prayer. But different from the rites held by the mages, the supreme sorcerer did not ask Amon to pray to any specific god. He only taught him how to focus his mind, so that everything in the outside world could be seen but not seen, so that he could clearly feel the subtle changes in his body and mind, concentrate his spirit, and communicate with the origin of all things.
This was, of course, much more difficult than praying to the gods. Crazy 'Ole told Amon that he could also pray to the gods, and explained with a smile, "I heard you and Aristotle discussing the origin of divinity the other day. If you can understand what he said, then you can understand what I mean. To awaken the power, you must be fully prepared. Otherwise, the ceremony will not succeed. And you, you are well prepared. "
This ceremony seemed to have opened a door and touched upon an unknown world. Crazy 'Ole asked Amon to put the Aquaticore in front of him, so that he could gather his spiritual power and use the Aquaticore as a medium to feel how to communicate with this unknown world. Amon could clearly feel a cooling sensation. It seemed to be there but not there. It permeated the surroundings and had no definite shape.
When he felt the coolness, it was as if he could turn into ice. This was the most familiar feeling he had in the cold spring for a long time. Then he felt the spring around him resonating with him in a strange rhythm. This rhythm was neither breathing nor heartbeat, but an indescribable natural rhythm.
At the same time, Crazy 'Ole saw the hazy light of the Aquaticore shrouding Amon. He could not help but sigh, "If you use the Gods' Tear to perform this ceremony, it will be much easier to awaken the power. The Aquaticore is good enough. Even without any external help, you will still succeed. But it's better this way, and it will be easier for you to grasp the specific magic."
Amon did not hear what Crazy 'Ole said. He was immersed in a new world. Was this the so-called power bestowed by the gods? Or was it the power of the origin of nature, or the hidden power in his body? What he felt was not only the strange waves of the outside world, but also an indescribable sense of relaxation and pleasure. He felt that he had never been so strong.
He felt inexplicably powerful, as if he could control or conquer everything. When he focused his mind, he really felt the power of two sides.
Desire always appeared with power. The greater the power, the more desire there would be. For example, a starving person might only want to have a full meal, but an emperor might want to conquer the entire continent and obtain endless wealth and power.
In the seemingly tranquil atmosphere, all kinds of desires or wishes quietly emerged. It was hard to tell whether they came from the body or the soul. He might be able to suppress it when he was focused on praying, but in his daily life, Amon soon felt this kind of disturbance.
… …
The ceremony was just the beginning. Crazy 'Ole told him that he had to gradually master this feeling before he could truly learn magic and body arts. It would probably take some time. In the next few days, Amon came to the spring every night and prayed attentively. But most of the day, he was still a miner in the town, looking no different from before.
He often thought of Maria and what happened that night. He thought of her body and her kiss, the feeling of his hand on her chest, and his thoughts changed subtly. He would indulge in a fantasy that he would be invincible, that he could defeat Gabriel, that he could drive away Rod-dick and his bodyguards, leaving only him and Maria, and then …
He did possess unprecedented power, but along with the appearance of power, there was also a subtle change in his mentality. His desires and wishes would expand and expand, and they would fly endlessly as if they had grown wings.
When he focused his mind and body every night, he would be aware of these things, as if he was enduring a kind of torture. One voice seemed to be saying, "You have the power, get everything you want!" and the other voice seemed to be saying, "How ridiculous, you are so weak that you can only be laughed at!" And Amon's soul seemed to be watching the two voices coldly, but he was unconsciously affected by them.
When Maria was going through all this, Gabriel told her that she only needed to observe with a pure heart and not be influenced by it. But Crazy 'Ole did not say that to Amon. He only told Amon that it was a test, and it was up to him to face it.
In addition to the turmoil that attacked his soul, Amon's body also had an unusual reaction. He had an illusion that he was getting stronger every day. His steps were so strong and steady when he walked. Every bone and every muscle in his body was slightly creaking as if they contained infinite energy. He even had an impulse to clench his fist and punch someone.
As the son of a drunkard, he had been ridiculed by many people in this town since he was a child. At this moment, Amon had an inexplicable desire to beat up anyone he didn't like. It was as if a ferocious and aggressive beast was lurking in his body. Amon did not fight in the town, but he did something that stunned and envied the whole town.
The result was that Lord Shog, the priest and clerk of the temple, fainted and vomited blood in public.
The cause of the incident was the parangons he took out from the cold spring. Amon had been carrying them carefully. When he passed by the Mourin Temple that day, he saw Shog and his servants registering the taxes paid by the townspeople in front of the gate. The mayor was also standing beside them. Not knowing where the impulse came from, Amon turned around with a sneer and said loudly, "Mr. Mayor, I want to pay my taxes!"
Before Mayor Dusti could answer, Shog asked uneasily and curiously, "What taxes do you want to pay, Amon? Your family hasn't collected the ores from the mine these days, has it? "
Taking out the parangons from the ores was only the last step. The ores were mined in the mine to the north of the village, on the edge of the mountains of the Syah Plateau. It was impossible for one person to cut open the mountain, chisel, and excavate the ores alone. It was the collective work of the miners in the town, supervised by someone. The ores were distributed to each family according to their contribution. Shog, the clerk, did not register that Amon's family had collected the ores recently, which made him feel lucky.
Amon replied, "Dear priest and clerk, I happened to find a batch of ores washed down by a mountain torrent in a stream in the Charcoal Forest. It was like a gift from the gods. There was no need to dig the ores manually. I took them home and opened them up. I took out a batch of parangons. According to the laws of the town, these are also taxable. "
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