Chapter 1511
Chapter 1511: Section 1512 Enlightenment Chapter 1511: Section 1512 Enlightenment Farlina understood her student's personality well; Sharley was surely contemplating how to sincerely apologize to gain forgiveness.
Although it might be seen as closing the barn door after the horse has bolted, the fact remained that Sharley was in the wrong, and she owed an apology.
However, Farlina had been waiting for a while and still hadn't seen Sharley's performance. Turning around, she saw Sharley holding her forehead in a pose that screamed “I don't exist.”
Farlina frowned, not understanding what Sharley was doing. Such a person, normally fearless and unfiltered, was showing signs of weakness?
Sharley not apologizing would be an embarrassment for her as a mentor. With no choice left, Farlina cursed inwardly and took the initiative to ask, “Speak, what exactly happened?”
“Nothing, just some minor issues, I borrowed Gulu's path.”
“Minor, what minor issues?”
Before Sharley could respond, Nail Granny across her smiled and said, “Don't be so harsh on the child; it indeed was some minor issues, don't be too hard on her.”
In the energy-sealed second floor, Farlina was unaware of the specifics on the street outside, but Nail Granny was very clear about what specifically happened next door. To Nail Granny, it indeed wasn't a big deal.
Farlina, seeing Sharley's hesitating expression, understood she must have caused trouble again.
Discussing such trouble in front of others would indeed be embarrassing. Farlina whispered to Sharley, “We will talk about this later.”
Then, Farlina completely ignored Sharley's presence and apologized to Angel and Nail Granny.
Nail Granny naturally didn't mind.
Angel gave Sharley a deep look and also smiled, saying, “Don't worry about it.”
Although Farlina felt there was a deeper meaning in Angel's gaze, she didn't dwell on it and put Sharley's matter aside to continue the previous topic, “… I wonder how Wizard Pat feels about this?”
Angel thought for a moment, his expression slightly hesitant, but eventually, he nodded and said, “Okay.”
Angel did not mind letting Farlina experience the Ocean Rhythm, as he had even allowed demons to experience it before. Besides, the Ocean Rhythm is a reusable support tool; although it consumes a lot of energy when activated, he could completely afford it.
His hesitation was not out of reluctance or to deliberately make things difficult in hopes of obtaining a better negotiation chip.
The reason was purely that he had initially refined the Ocean Rhythm as a gift to Lady Mirror. Thus, when constructing the image of the Ocean Goddess, he created a group of handsome male figures next to her, according to Lady Mirror's preferences, including some big names in the Wizard Realm.
The primary reason Angel eventually agreed was that, although there were images of some big shots around the Ocean Goddess, they were only similar and not identical. Even if they were discovered, at most, people would feel a sense of deja vu. Moreover, it is not easy to see the Ocean Goddess, unless one is extremely lucky to land near her in the Illusionary Realm; otherwise, one would just drift in the turbulent sea and eventually perish.
Besides, maintaining a good relationship with Farlina was also a reason for Angel's agreement.
Since he had agreed, Angel did not hesitate further and took out the Ocean Rhythm.
When the Ocean Rhythm was placed on the table, everyone's gaze was drawn to it.
Farlina had once caught a fleeting glimpse of the Ocean Rhythm at the witnessing ceremony, but at that time she was only a phantom and could only see its appearance, not having an actual tactile experience. However, just the appearance of the Ocean Rhythm was already impressively beautiful, enough to qualify as a master's work.
Now that Farlina actually saw the Ocean Rhythm, she realized it was not only outstanding in appearance but the aura it emitted was like the real ocean… As an Ocean Mage herself, Farlina felt this aura perfectly aligned with her own.
Another person who felt this was Sharley, pretending to be an ostrich nearby.
Although Sharley was not a direct descendant of the ocean lineage, her main element was also water, and her affinity to the ocean was quite high. When she felt the vibrations of the Ocean Rhythm, Sharley felt as if she had fallen into an endless azure ocean, experiencing a sense of perfect harmony, activating her slightly sluggish water elemental energy.
Even without experiencing it directly, just feeling the vibrations of the Ocean Rhythm was already a stunning revelation for Sharley.
Sharley couldn't help but look at Angel, but her gaze was caught by him, and she hurriedly lowered her head, scared.
Since Angel hadn't brought up her issues earlier, she thought she might sneak by unnoticed, but she didn't want to draw his attention now.
As for Nail Granny, although she had truly witnessed the Ocean Rhythm before, feeling it again still made her unable to resist praising it.
Angel: “The Ocean Rhythm is an auxiliary alchemy tool; as I mentioned during the witnessing ceremony, its main function is to enhance the affinity with the water system, which indeed it does. However–”
Angel's sudden turn in the conversation drew everyone's attention.
“But, the effect is more pronounced on apprentices, particularly water system apprentices,” Angel glanced at Sharley and continued, “Besides, it might also have some special effects on transcendent water elemental beings.”
Angel did not specifically say the transcendent beings were wizards because the reaction of the Pannas Charm Demon to the Ocean Rhythm was tremendous.
“Special effects?” Farlina asked, somewhat curious.
Angel: “Of course, there might also be no effect at all.”
The so-called special effects are actually “enlightenments”. For extraordinary lifeforms attuned to the water system, this is especially prominent. Nya's direct awakening is a testament to this, although it also has to do with the fact that Nya never used external forces, combined with her own potential building up over time.
After explaining the effects, Angel prepared to initiate the ocean rhythm. However, before starting, Angel took a precautionary measure: “During the following experience, regardless of what you see, do not speak of it, nor tell anyone else.”
With that, Angel slowly initiated the ocean rhythm.
As the mermaids on the conch shells emitted a hazy light, everyone present suddenly plunged into a boundless ocean.
Except for Angel, everyone else was encompassed, including Sharley.
Since he was initiating the ocean rhythm, Angel did not mind including a few more people, even if he did not favor some of Sharley's behaviors.
This experience was incredibly unlucky for the experiencers. The three who were immersed in the ocean rhythm couldn't last two minutes. Nail Granny endured the longest, lasting a minute and a half.
This also meant that the three of them probably didn't get to see the face of the Ocean Goddess before they fell to the ocean floor.
After waking up, all three tacitly remained silent, lost in thought.
Sharley gained the least, thus she was the first to recover. The so-called least gain, relative only to Nail Granny and the Water Pattern Witch, was due to her incomplete knowledge structure and insufficient foundation, rendering her unable to detect the tricks in the illusionary realm.
But speaking of personal strength, Sharley actually gained the most.
She had been an Advanced Apprentice for a long time, continually unable to find the opportunity to break through to the peak of apprenticeship. After this experience, she clearly felt as though the nearly stagnant water elemental energy was rejuvenated, entering an unprecedentedly active phase. Maintaining this state, perhaps she could break through her barriers in as short as half a year, reaching the peak of apprenticeship!
However, maintaining this state was not so easy, unless… Sharley's eyes heated up as she looked at the ocean rhythm.
After a while, Sharley deflated.
If it was someone else's possession, perhaps she could “borrow” it. But this belonged to Angel, an Official Wizard and also a new member of the Research and Development Institute. Forget borrowing, even snatching it was not possible.
Sharley sighed, glancing sidelong at Angel.
That journey had shocked her immensely, and she could hardly believe that such a profound understanding of “water” and “ocean” could come from someone who was not an Ocean Mage.
She recalled how, not long ago, she had heard someone's opinion of Angel in a tavern. Someone claimed Angel was a genius in both cultivation and alchemy, which was immediately countered by a serial flatterer, stating that “genius” didn't do justice to Angel, who should be called a monster–a monster in cultivation and in alchemy!
At the time, Sharley had been quite unconvinced, despite knowing from her mentor that Angel had been promoted to Official Wizard.
She still felt that Angel just had good talent and perhaps more luck.
But when she actually witnessed Angel's work, whether from an aesthetic perspective or the completeness and amazing effects of the work, she could clearly see that Angel's mastery in alchemy was no stroke of luck–it was a profound foundation.
An absolute monster.
After her reflection, Sharley still couldn't let go of her longing for the ocean rhythm, involuntarily looking towards her mentor. She could only pin her hopes on Farina–whether Farina could buy or trade for the ocean rhythm, as with that, she could break not just any barrier, but even the great barrier!
However, Sharley's hopes ultimately fell through, as Farina, though willing, was powerless.
The experience was too short, just over a minute. But for Nail Granny and the Water Pattern Witch, both Alchemy Masters, it didn't prevent them from discerning the secrets of the ocean rhythm.
Enhancing affinity with the water system had minimal effect on people of their level. But for apprentices, it was a rapid method that might save years or even decades of effort, and was completely harmless.
This was remarkable in itself, making Farina reflect even more on the previously vague “special effects.”
Enlightenment!
This was an extremely special effect, a comprehensive enhancement including guiding, correcting, and awakening abilities. Although it was most beneficial for apprentices, Farina herself felt an improvement during the experience.
She had always been preparing to create an Ocean Sorcery. After this trip, she clearly gained a new insight.
The extent of this impact on her was still uncertain, but it certainly had a positive effect–that was undeniable.
Just this alone was enough to demonstrate the preciousness of the ocean rhythm.
According to Farina's judgment, among all the alchemy works related to the ocean currently known in the Southern Alchemy Realm, the ocean rhythm could definitely rank within the top three!
Such an item, it's no wonder the Sea God highly valued it. Possessing the ocean rhythm would be a transformative enhancement for the overall strength of the Song of the Deep Sea!
Because Farina knew the value of the ocean rhythm, she also understood that trading for it was nearly impossible, as she could not offer an item of equivalent significance.
However, Farina hadn't considered trading for it, as she wasn't part of the Song of the Deep Sea and didn't need to think about the entire ocean lineage.
Her concern now was, she hadn't known how valuable the ocean rhythm was before the experience; after the experience, what should she offer to repay Angel?