Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Launch

After cleaning his body in the stream, Aiven changed into a loose linen robe, shedding a bit of the knight’s sharpness and gaining a bit of the mysteriousness of a wizard apprentice.

The so-called “ritual” is: By using specific rituals to establish a connection between oneself and certain world rules, spiritual spirits, deities, etc., temporarily making the ego consciousness retreat, resonating the spirit with super-tier existence, and unleashing powerful abilities that transcend one’s own limitations or even those that one does not possess!

And different purposes or directions of “rituals” have different requirements for the host and the necessary items.

Rituals involving gods must consider the preferences of the corresponding gods, such as food, plants, essential oils, gold and silver artifacts for sacrifices, etc. Even with the simplest conditions, meticulous ceremonial attire is indispensable for a True God.

To communicate with the Spirit Realm during a ritual, one must wear various spiritual-enhancing accessories, such as crystals, gemstones, herbs, and specially made talismans.

For rituals involving transactions with Demons of the Lower Interface, the host must be covered in filth or even perform some form of desecration to gain recognition from the demons.

The ritual Aiven is preparing now is a type of biological transformation, requiring as close to nature as possible, so he removed all weapons, clothing, and other man-made items, wearing only the simplest linen robe.

He walked to the cleaned and leveled blue stone.

Following the requirements of the ritual, Aiven used six candles, plant essential oil, and specially made spices to construct a Barrier Wall around the entire blue stone surface to block external physical interference.

Woosh—-

At the moment the Barrier Wall formed, the closed internal area seemed to have a mute button pressed, as sounds of wind, distant babbling brook, and the rustle of branches and leaves all disappeared.

“Constructed successfully!”

Aiven, who was practicing for the first time, sighed in relief.

Then he held a pure silver dagger in hand and stood at one end of the clearing, surging his own wizard’s spiritual nature from the tip of the dagger, stepping onto the circular clearing to walk an shape.

When the endpoint and the start point overlapped, the Spiritual Barrier slowly unfolded, and a breeze that only existed in spiritual perception swept through, clearing all “filth” inside the Barrier Wall.

Though nothing changed visually, even an ordinary person standing here would feel the air suddenly became much fresher.

The role of the Spiritual Barrier is not only to create a “clean” environment but also to block spying from Spirit Realm creatures to ensure the ritual proceeds normally.

“Success on the first try, perfect!”

These two barriers seem very magical but are just basic operations for wizards. Records are found in Leon’s notes, the Crow Witch’s parchment, and in the mystical knowledge from Tru.

And Aiven borrowed from each of their strengths to form his own procedure.

The ritual in “Galliot Bird Transformation Technique 1.0” was divided into two parts by Aiven.

The first step is to grant a selected group of a hundred or so sea birds the solidified ability of “Extraordinary Sense of Direction.”

Because many maritime birds naturally have the ability to sense the planet’s magnetic field to determine direction, a simple induction can achieve it, which is much easier than giving humans this ability.

The second step is to biologically modify the “Base Station” to enhance its brain, so even if it does not reach the level of humans, it can at least withstand the mental connection of the sea birds and bear some of the information processing.

Since this is only the 1.0 version of the “Galliot Bird Transformation Technique,” Aiven’s requirements are not high, and he is very satisfied as long as it achieves the anticipated initial effects.

Rolling up his sleeves, Aiven took out a brush dipped in pre-prepared spiritual materials to start drawing the Array Technique. As an Official Knight, his powerful body bestowed him with precision and stability far beyond average wizard apprentices and even wizards.

“Data Visualization” accurately distinguished the size, proportion, and position of the technique.

The combination of the two elements made every line he drew and every mysterious symbol possess a standardized kind of unique beauty, as if printed.

Brush brush brush—-

Time elapsed, and soon a red circular array was formed under Aiven’s hand. As the last stroke completed, the entire array glowed slightly.

Even though it hasn’t been activated yet, an obscure witchcraft spiritual light began to circulate between every character, inhaling and exhaling like it had life.

Strike while the iron is hot.

Aiven stood in the reserved control position outside the array, holding a Blood Essence Stone the size of an egg in his hands, chanting one obscure spell after another from his mouth.

The spells composed in “Jatata Language” carried a primitive and majestic yet vibrant rhythm, swirling above the array.

As the host of the ritual, Aiven’s spirit suddenly surged and connected with a vast and expansive consciousness at the first utterance of the spell.

The cries of birds, the roars of beasts, the chirps of insects, the lapping waves, the growth of trees and grass, both phantom and illusory sound, carved through his heart.

A warmth and inclusiveness, like that of a mother, enveloped his body and mind. It was the pan-consciousness formed by all life on this planet, “Spirit of Nature,” “Mother Earth,” and often described as “Gaia,” the Earth’s will in many literary works.

Although the connection lasted only a moment, it brought unparalleled shock to Aiven!

Not daring to think deeply, he focused his spirit.

“sta!”

With the final spiritual text emerging from Aiven’s mouth, the blue stone surface lightly shuddered beneath his feet.

Amidst the rushing sound of water, every character and line that composed the red array began to blur and become illusionary, while a blood-red mist seemed to rise from the depths of the void, becoming more intense and denser.

Whirr..whirr..whirr…

The red mist continuously surged toward the original center of the array, eventually becoming almost substantial.

Even standing outside the array, a nauseating blood scent started to fill Aiven’s nose and mouth, hard to rid even by holding his breath.

Only after a minute did the anomalies within the array fully vanish, leaving only a blood-red eye with a narrow pupil like a pointer floating quietly at the original center of the array.

The red eye was comparable to the size of half an adult, slightly illusionary, like it was an apparition not belonging to this world.

And in Aiven’s hand, the valuable Blood Essence Stone had long evaporated, becoming part of this red eye.

“Did it succeed?”

Resisting the emptiness after the massive spiritual consumption, Aiven carefully inspected. Without outright copying the witchcraft rituals of predecessors, he felt a bit nervous, unsure if the costly improved ritual would meet the expected results?

However, according to his design, at least until now, everything in the ritual was normal, theoretically even if it failed, it shouldn’t cause serious harm to the sea birds.

Without further hesitation.

Shoo—-

With a sharp whistle from Aiven, the most numerous White Seagulls among the bird flock descended from the outer tree branches, taking a few steps on the ground, approaching the red eye, and meeting its gaze at Aiven’s request.

One second, two seconds…