Chapter 26: Gaze

The process of promotion was not particularly complex for Lu Cang.

Ultimately, it boiled down to placing his hand on a crystal ball and watching it glow.

During the spell control test, he cast a few spells.

Finally, he brought out the prepared Snake Eyes, and it ended just as simply.

An ascension ceremony was no different from a stroll after breakfast.

However, for the town of Rain, it was a sensation.

The news of the birth of a magical genius who surpassed Izparut...

Spread from Rain Town to the entire world.

...

【Rain Hotel】

A plain and unpretentious name, but it was indeed the largest hotel in Rain Town and the place where Lu Cang and the others were staying.

At this moment, Lu Cang was in Kumironi's suite.

Kumironi's hand rested gently on Lu Cang's back, as life force flowed through his body.

Lu Cang could feel certain damages within his body being repaired and impurities being expelled.

The official public description was that if one's development was incomplete before the age of sixteen, awakening would cause irreversible damage to the body.

This was common knowledge.

But Lu Cang felt now...

It might not be that simple.

Immediately after presiding over the ceremony, Kumironi had whispered something to Iz.

Iz had then grabbed her, leading her through the crowd to rush back to the hotel as quickly as possible.

"Kumironi..."

Kumironi's voice remained gentle as she whispered, "It will be fine~"

"The gaze upon you during the ceremony was more intense than expected."

"If it were an ordinary person promoting to a Level 2 Mage, I should have been able to completely eliminate the side effects."

"But... your performance was too outstanding."

Having become a Level 2 Mage, Lu Cang could sense various things within his body.

These "various things" did not just refer to his organs like the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.

At the same time, Lu Cang could also feel mana, vital energy, and other substances circulating in his body.

Among them, some pitch-black things were coiled around his body.

Kumironi was currently cleansing them.

These things seemed like the roots of some kind of plant, burrowing into his body.

Like tadpoles, they wanted to swim deeper into his being.

But they had only just arrived...

They didn't even have the chance to penetrate deeply into Lu Cang's body before Kumironi used some method to suck them away.

He couldn't help but feel.

The consequences brought by this premature awakening were not merely physical damage.

It was something akin to being haunted by a curse.

However, this was just a feeling. Lu Cang had only learned some basic common knowledge, and he truly did not have a deep understanding of these inexplicable phenomena.

"Kumironi, what exactly are these?"

Kumironi hesitated.

"A kind of..."

She seemed undecided on whether to say it.

Although Lu Cang could not see behind him, he seemed to sense her opening her mouth twice, only to close it again.

"Kumironi, this is happening inside my body. I want to know the truth..." Lu Cang insisted.

Finally, she let out a soft sigh. "Spirituality Pollution."

"Spirituality Pollution?" Lu Cang asked, puzzled.

Kumironi spoke slowly, "Actually, in early theories, the younger the child, the better their performance after awakening a profession."

"Warriors will possess more vigorous vital energy, Mages can sense more elements, Assassins are more agile and better at concealing their presence... Every profession, when awakened in youth, shows different brilliant traits and is more likely to awaken high-tier talents."

"Furthermore, awakening earlier means entering the professional path earlier, gaining a lead at the starting line of life."

"Therefore, even though such an awakening causes physical backlash, or even leaves incurable disabilities and injuries, parents still flock to it, wanting their children to awaken early."

Incurable disabilities and injuries? It sounded terrifying just hearing about it.

Parental coercion...

As expected, no matter which world it was, there were always obsessive parents willing to sacrifice their children's health just to make them famous.

"But if it were merely injuries, it wouldn't be a sufficient reason to prohibit early awakening."

"Compared to powerful 'talent,' these side effects are not unacceptable."

"After all, in a world overrun by monsters, if you lack strength, you can still be harmed or seriously injured by them."

*Eh... I think I can suddenly understand how parents feel.*

After all, this wasn't the world I lived in before I transmigrated; being weak could truly mean death.

"The real reason early awakening is strictly prohibited stems from a major research report by the Church of Life thirty years ago."

"These children who awakened early almost invariably became paranoid and manic after becoming high-level professionals."

"Some even became demonic, undergoing drastic personality shifts."

"People who were originally kind-hearted would become inexplicably distorted and evil."

"At first, everyone thought it was simply because they had experienced something sudden, or perhaps they became mad due to a certain craving for the Demonic Path."

"After all, there are plenty of paranoid mages."

"Until that report pointed out..."

"The reason for their change was that their spirituality had been polluted."

"Initially, the major kingdoms dismissed the report, believing it to be groundless concern that wouldn't cause much impact."

"Until... three years after the report was released, a massive-scale blood sacrifice event occurred."

"A mage pursuing the Demonic Path, in order to get closer to the source and to deliver a satisfactory 'answer' to his promotion, chose to complete his research through a blood sacrifice."

"That blood sacrifice event resulted in the deaths of three billion people. Two kingdoms collapsed completely because of it, and it was classified as the largest evil sacrifice event of this century."

"Subsequent investigations revealed that this mage was a genius who had awakened the Mage profession at the age of nine. Before the blood sacrifice, he had always been a kind lord of the Messe Territory."

"This incident served as a wake-up call, shocking the surrounding continents and hundreds of kingdoms."

"Frequent meetings were held during that period, and one of the major resolutions passed was that no one is allowed to undergo professional awakening before the age of sixteen."

"After the incident, those who completed their awakening before sixteen and had already reached Level 4 or higher were closely monitored by the major kingdoms."

"The Church of Life conducted deeper research on this and made significant progress."

"The current research progress is as follows: spirituality before the age of sixteen is more powerful, and during the transition ceremony, it receives more 'gaze.' This gaze erodes their souls without them realizing it."

"As their professional level rises, they become increasingly paranoid on this path."

"Ultimately, obsession turns them into seekers who will do anything."

"To climb higher steps, they are capable of doing anything that defies humanity."

"They become the purest of villains."

After listening, Lu Cang's heart surged with emotion...

Such a thing had actually happened in this world. It seemed the rule prohibiting awakening before sixteen was not unfounded; there truly were lessons written in blood behind it.

"Kumironi... then what about me?"

Kumironi smiled. "It's okay."

"I am one of the few healers capable of cleansing this influence."

"It's just... little Lu Cang."

"The gaze you received during this promotion ceremony was much more than I imagined."

"Just what kind of response did you receive?"

(End of Chapter)