"Coexistence Contract?"
Ronan was taken aback, his mind settling as he relied on the peculiar connection with Moriel. After a moment, he finally grasped what had transpired between them.
Moriel had attempted to forcibly seize his life force using a secret technique, aiming to achieve "rebirth" for healing purposes.
However, the spell was abruptly interrupted by the mysterious power released from the "Yarlis Ice Ring," resulting in an unexpected outcome.
To put it metaphorically, if Moriel and Ronan were two bottles, with life force as the water contained within, Moriel's bottle was nearly empty, so she sought to pour all of Ronan's water into her own.
Yet, during this process, some indescribable accident occurred, causing their bottles to inexplicably "adhere" to each other. What was initially a one-sided seizure ultimately transformed into a "coexistence" between the two.
Ronan sorted through his thoughts, his expression darkening.
He stood still, his gaze flickering as he contemplated how to resolve the situation.
Suddenly, Moriel, who had been standing still, let out a scream and lunged at him like a fleeting shadow.
Her speed was trivial in Ronan's eyes, and he instinctively kicked her away.
He let out a muffled grunt and stumbled back a couple of steps.
When he looked up at Moriel again, he found her clutching her chest with both hands, glaring at him with a look that seemed to wish she could devour him whole, her eyes mixed with an indescribable shame and anger.
A fleeting sensation of the slickness he had felt when he kicked her reminded Ronan that neither of them was wearing any clothes.
Ithium quickly enveloped his body, solidifying into the form of a Wizard Robe.
Once he was dressed, he noticed that Moriel's gaze toward him was even more filled with rage and malice.
"You don't even have a single piece of clothing, do you?"
Ronan frowned, scanning Moriel. Upon reflection, he realized he hadn't seen any adornments on her.
Her spatial storage items must have been destroyed in the battle.
With that thought, Ronan took out a set of Wizard Robe from his space ring and tossed it to Moriel, then turned his back to her.
It was a gesture of respect for her dignity.
The two had previously been driven by primal instincts in close combat, and they had seen each other in every possible way.
"What is this all about?"
After a moment of silence, the sound of rustling fabric began to emerge from behind him.
Ronan's mood was foul, his mind a chaotic mess, feeling as if he had inadvertently fallen into a tangle of confusion.
Once the sounds subsided, he turned around.
The Wizard Robe he carried was tailored to his own physique, and now, worn by the petite Moriel, it appeared excessively large, giving the impression of a child wearing an adult's clothing.
Ronan couldn't muster a smile; he simply looked at Moriel with a calm tone and asked, "Do you know how to break this contract?"
Moriel's expression was indifferent, her eyes hollow like a soulless puppet.
Ronan understood her current state.
Once a proud and domineering young lady, she had suddenly fallen from grace, not only rolling into the mud but also exposing her most disgraceful and humiliating self to the person she despised the most.
All her previous pride had been utterly shattered.
If Ronan's desire to kill Moriel was a 1, he had no doubt that her desire to kill him at this moment was over ten thousand! Upon hearing Ronan's question, Moriel looked up at him expressionlessly and suddenly sneered.
Ronan realized that asking this question was somewhat foolish; even if Moriel knew how to解除 the "coexistence" state, she would never tell him at this stage.
Because once this state was broken, she would completely lose her life security in front of Ronan.
"Forget it."
Ronan calmed down, striding forward to grab Moriel and directly took off into the air.
Moriel instinctively resisted a few times but soon seemed to resign herself, allowing him to carry her away.
Ronan had no choice but to leave with Moriel.
Their "coexistence" state meant they could not stray too far from each other, or they would both suffer backlash.
Even without this rule, he could never just abandon Moriel here; if she were captured, he would be in trouble too.
"Just in time to meet Evaque."
"As the inheritor of the Ancient Spirit Witch, Evaque might have a way to deal with this soul-related 'strange ailment.'"
Ronan carried Moriel like a chick, stowing her red lotus staff, and quickly headed in a direction.
Five days later.
Deep within a dark, damp, and eerie forest, two figures in black robes moved in tandem.
The tall figure in the front led the way, occasionally illuminating the path with spells, clearing the miasma and poisonous insects along the way.
The petite figure followed at a leisurely pace, maintaining a relatively stable distance, with no communication between them.
It wasn't until they reached a relatively flat and dry area that the leading figure spoke.
"Let's take a break and continue when it gets dark."
After saying this, he didn't care whether the person behind responded and stopped on his own.
The two black-robed figures removed their hoods, revealing the youthful faces of a man and a woman.
Both were exceptionally handsome, and if seen outside, they might be mistaken for a perfectly matched couple. However, in reality, their relationship was even beyond "indifferent."
Ronan casually tossed a fireball onto the ground, the flames igniting and crackling as they burned the dry leaves and twigs beneath.
Given his current physique, the harsh environment of the forest had little effect on him. His powerful mental strength as a mid-level third-tier Wizard, combined with the Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline flowing within him, was enough to deter most beasts and monsters from approaching.
Yet, seeking a light source in the dark was an instinct ingrained in human genes; whenever he paused to rest, Ronan would habitually light a campfire.
At this moment, Moriel stood over five meters away from him, her expression calm, showing no signs of emotion. In Ronan's perception, her inner feelings were like a still pond.
Over the past five days, they had hardly exchanged any words; Moriel simply did whatever Ronan "commanded," appearing quite "obedient."
Ronan couldn't be bothered with her, focusing on his own tasks.
He was currently in a place called the "Wailing Mountains."
The meeting point Evaque had contacted him about was deep within the Wailing Mountains, in a primitive tribe.
Evaque couldn't describe the exact location but told him to keep walking deeper into the Wailing Mountains until he found a forest entirely made up of moonlight trees, which would indicate he had found the place.
Moonlight trees had no specific shape; their only characteristic was that they glowed under moonlight. Therefore, to facilitate the search, Ronan decided to wait until the moon rose before continuing.
He estimated he was close to the location.
Ronan first sensed the "coexistence" state between himself and Moriel.
Compared to five days ago, their connection seemed to have tightened, showing no signs of the gradual weakening he had anticipated with the passage of time.
Ronan speculated that if this continued, their souls might further merge, ultimately becoming a "new" individual.
This was something he absolutely did not want to see, yet he had no means to resolve or even contain it.
The only good news was that Moriel's situation was likely worse than his.
Although he was in a "coexistence" state with Moriel, his strength remained largely intact.
In contrast, Moriel, for reasons unknown, had almost lost all combat ability; whether it was her bloodline, spells, or even mental strength, she could not exert any of it. All that remained was a bit of enhanced physique from the Phoenix bloodline, which was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person, even less than a capable Wizard apprentice.
Perhaps this was why she obediently allowed him to "manipulate" her.
Ronan looked at Moriel's current state, feeling not a shred of sympathy.
If their situations were reversed, he would have likely been tormented to the point of "wishing for death."
"Ice and fire coexist."
Ronan stared at the burning campfire, silently contemplating the issue of the coexistence of ice and fire energies.
For the past few days, he had been focused on this. Previously, when he was on the brink of death, many inspirations had surged in his mind, and he had almost grasped the key to it. But now, as he tried to revisit those thoughts, he found it impossible to recapture that initial state.
Ronan attempted to summon a fireball and an ice ball, each the size of a ping-pong ball, in the palms of his hands.
Both were the most basic zero-level spells.
Then, he brought his hands together, slowly moving the two spells closer while extending his mental strength to carefully observe the changes in the energy particles upon their collision.
As the ice ball and fireball collided, the two spell energies continuously counteracted each other in Ronan's palms, extinguishing one another. "Hmph."
A scoff of disdain escaped his lips.
Ronan raised his head, calmly glancing at Moriel, not far away.
In their current state, there were no secrets between them regarding shallow emotional and conscious fluctuations; he was well aware of what Moriel was mocking.
He didn't mind; instead, he pondered thoughtfully.
After several days of attempts, Ronan had grasped a hint of understanding.
For the two opposing elemental energies of ice and fire to coexist, two conditions must be met.
First, the powers of the two elements must achieve absolute balance.
Second, there must be a "neutral party" responsible for harmonizing the two.
Ronan had been striving for the first condition. With his current mid-level third-tier Wizard (in fact, more than ten times stronger than an average mid-level third-tier Wizard) mental strength, he still couldn't achieve what was called "absolute balance."
He had tried to keep the power of the two spells equal, but he was still far from that delicate state of "absolute balance."
For the second requirement, Ronan first thought of using his mental strength as the "neutral party," but the effect was not significant. He had considered trying to use soul power, but with his shallow understanding and control over soul power, that was even more of a luxury.
"I wonder if advancing to fourth-tier Dawn and nurturing Primal Spirit will change the situation."
The Dawn tier is a further exploration and excavation of the soul for Wizards, and Ronan felt this was a crucial requirement for his research on the spell topic of "ice and fire coexistence."
Unknowingly, the campfire in the forest extinguished, night fell, and a bit of moonlight filtered through the gaps in the forest, illuminating the area with scattered bioluminescence.
"Let's go."
Ronan stopped his "experiment," stood up, and called for Moriel to set off.
The latter followed him expressionlessly, and the two continued deeper into the forest.
As a once "top-tier young lady" with a fifth-tier Wizard at her side, Moriel had endured much hardship following Ronan these past few days.
After trekking through the Wailing Mountains for days, Moriel, unable to use any spell power, had her feet covered in mud and leaves, with numerous cuts from stones and grass.
Although Moriel was not weak, ordinary wounds might heal by the next day, the pain from her injuries was very real.
Ronan's space ring contained no suitable shoes for Moriel; while the Wizard Robe could be torn and adjusted to fit, ill-fitting shoes were worse than none at all.
Ronan had the ability to make Moriel a temporary pair of "boots," but he would never do so.
He still harbored murderous intent toward Moriel; if their coexistence state were to be broken now, he would not hesitate to kill her.
Moreover, Moriel had not eaten for five days. Ronan had seen her secretly licking dew off leaves when thirsty, and once, after eating poisonous berries growing by the roadside, she bit her lip in pain. Ronan completely ignored it; he would rather endure the same suffering as Moriel than show her any care. Unless she was on the verge of killing herself, he would intervene.
The two walked and stopped, not knowing how long it had been.
Suddenly, a hazy light caught Ronan's eye.
His gaze shifted, quickly parting the layers of underbrush, and he was immediately captivated by the scene before him.
In a forest of needle-like trees, each tree was "shimmering," releasing a moonlight-like ethereal glow, presenting a dreamlike and beautiful sight.
"Moonlight trees!"
Ronan's heart leaped with joy; according to Evaque's description, these must be the moonlight trees.
Clearly, he had entered the area agreed upon with Evaque.
Ronan quickly moved deeper into the moonlight forest, but Moriel gradually fell behind him.
Ronan initially thought she was mesmerized by the beauty of the moonlight trees, but when he turned to look, he found her drenched in sweat, struggling to walk.
Her feet were covered in glowing "spikes."
Having practiced the Ascetic Body Forging for years, Ronan was nearly immune to such minor pains.
He frowned slightly, then swiftly moved to pick up Moriel and continue on.
After about five minutes of walking, suddenly, "whoosh—"
A faint sound of something slicing through the air echoed in the silent forest.
Ronan turned toward the sound, seeing delicate glowing ripples spreading through the air before him. As he slightly released his mental strength, those ripples abruptly stopped.
A black arrow, over a foot long, hovered in front of Ronan.
Ronan's eyes flickered; the black arrow changed direction, emitting a shriller screech before vanishing again.
"Thud—"
Immediately after, it seemed to deeply embed itself into a wooden stake, followed by a slight rustling sound.
"Tap tap whoosh—!"
Ronan took a step forward, calmly shouting a phrase in the native dialect.
This was something Evaque had taught him.
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