Bear School Astartes

Chapter 404: 404. The Golden Lake

When Lann crossed the rift of the spheres’ convergence, he finally felt it was right this time.

He no longer felt sleepy or tired, just simply dizzy and nauseous.

Oh heavens, Lann never thought he would one day miss this nauseating feeling.

With a splash, the Demon Hunter with the Lady of the Lake’s Sword at his waist stumbled out of the rift of the spheres’ convergence uncontrollably, sending out a cascade of water.

Under the power of the Lady of the Lake, this end of the rift was always fixed on the Da Gun Altar.

The marble-tiled ground was covered with about ten centimeters of lake water, with lotus leaves and flowers floating on the surface.

The scent of nature filled the air: the fragrance of flowers, lake water, fishiness...

Compared to Yan’an, Vizima Lake’s air achieved a kind of natural beauty.

Thus, the Demon Hunter couldn’t help but close his eyes and take a deep breath, as if bathing himself in the fresh air.

But as he inhaled, a light, gentle scent like lake water grew stronger and stronger.

A soft hand began to caress Lann from the nape of his neck upward, then lifted his chin, forcing him to open his eyes.

”Good evening, my lady.” No sooner had he finished speaking than Lann grimaced, ”No, you don’t have to return the greeting, I really don’t want to hear ’good evening’ right now, my last night was terrible enough.”

”Then it’s ’hello to you too,’ Lann.”

The Lady of the Lake withdrew her teasing fingers and spoke obligingly.

She helped Lann up and walked with him toward Black Seagull Island.

The lady did not use her power; instead, she supported Lann with her body like an ordinary Nymph Fairy.

Of course, she, like the Nymph Fairy, remained unclothed with her lake-green body throughout.

”It seems you dealt with a tricky foe this time, you even lost your armor.”

”I didn’t lose it; I encountered a creature called ’Ancient God,’ and my armor was stained with the blood of one of them. The blood was wicked, and I couldn’t bring it over.”

The Lady of the Lake seemed a bit surprised after Lann informed her, then she leaned closer to Lann, her nostrils flaring as if trying to catch a scent.

Lann didn’t know if she caught any scent, but when the goddess leaned over, he felt a soft yet immense pressure on his arm.

So, he couldn’t help but lean towards the goddess... closer... and closer...

”Oof!”

Almost in the blink of an eye, Lann clutched his forehead and eyes again.

The headache from the influx of information in his mind, along with the joyous excitement of [Clairvoyance] being activated, filled his head.

He wondered if since obtaining this strange new sense, he had been letting it grow too rapidly?

The Lady of the Lake’s helpless voice sounded in Lann’s ear.

”Hey, I thought you were going to kiss me! I even straightened my head!”

”Sorry, my lady.”

Lann smiled sheepishly. The Lady of the Lake’s tone wasn’t angry, but her pace while pulling Lann along was noticeably rougher.

”Newcraft from another world always comes with an uncontrollable curiosity.”

While observing the Lady of the Lake with [Clairvoyance] just now, he initially saw a vast and gentle boundless lake.

The lake water shone with inspiring golden light, clear, precious, beautiful... for a moment, various descriptors sprang to mind.

But as he continued to use [Clairvoyance], the glow of the lake, though still inspiring, began to become increasingly blinding.

Eventually, it was the pain in his eyes that pulled him out of [Clairvoyance].

And in the material world, that prolonged gaze had only lasted a moment.

”Alright, alright.” The lady pulled him to the pool where they first met and had him sit on the circle of stones by the pool.

Then Lann heard the ’splash’ of flowing water, and shortly after, clear water poured over his forehead, running down his temples, scalp, forehead, eyes...

And with each passage, he felt a refreshing relaxation.

This water possessed an extraordinary power.

”You’ve met Brokilon’s Aisne, right? She used her power to create a small pool in that forest, capturing a suitable portion of the forest’s life force for the pool, thus turning it into Magic Spring Water. It’s not hard to do.”

Lann smirked inwardly.

Aisne took the life force of an entire forest, but Vizima Lake has been managed by humans for hundreds of years, there’s no ’excess life force’ here.

This was all due to the Lady of the Lake’s own power.

Lann tentatively opened his eyes, feeling much better. So he wiped the spring water from his head and thanked the lady.

The Lady of the Lake, walking with graceful steps into the pool, waved her hand dismissively.

”You deserve it, Lann. Those Ancient Gods... Oh, what a dreadful feeling. Although I hate to say it, they do remind me of Da Gun. Some differences, yet still a strange and eerie ’bunch’.”

”If you had brought their blood, even if it was just what was stuck to your armor, I would probably have to clean out all of Vizima Lake.”

The Demon Hunter raised an eyebrow, hoping that the lady meant something different by ’cleaning’ than what he imagined.

”And about your ’newcraft’ just now...”

When it came to [Clairvoyance], the Lady of the Lake casually turned over in the pool, revealing a stunning arc that flashed at the water’s surface.

”It’s truly a novel feeling, I can feel you looking at me and seeing my deeper essence in the world.”

”So strange, I never imagined such a method would exist? Enhancing the [Vision] to enhance one’s overall existence... Tell me honestly, do I look good?”

In the first half, the lady’s dialogue had a scholarly tone, making Lann nod frequently.

But in the latter half, her tone carried a teasing ambiguity.

”But lady, in my eyes just now, you were a lake... though the lake was indeed magnificent.”

As a scenery, that uplifting golden lake was impeccable.

But do you expect me to have any thoughts about a lake?!

The lady glanced at Lann with a silent look as if puzzled by his narrow preferences.

This made Lann’s mouth twitch involuntarily.

After a moment of silence, the Lady of the Lake swam from the center of the pool to the stone where Lann sat. She leaned her hands on it, tilted her head, and looked up at Lann’s profile.

”I’m sorry, Lann.”

”What?”

”I have somewhat neglected you; this journey was dangerous, but if it weren’t for you handling the Ancient God’s Blood yourself... I’m very sorry I didn’t help much.”

”You were busy too. Last time, I remember you dealing with a Lake God summoned through a blood ritual? If that thing had time to root itself in the deeper layers of the world, it would be troublesome, right? We made a pact, I was just handling what we agreed upon.”

”No.” The gentle hand, soft like the lake water, lightly pressed on the back of Lann’s hand.

”No more in the future; at least when you return, I will be by your side.”