Chapter 438: Recalling
In the deep of night, the Gleaming Scale Serpent opened its “eyes” under the clear moonlight.
From the outside, it appeared to be the crystallization of this Elemental Spirit, with a slight increase in brightness.
The soft light of the Pure White Moon draped like a veil over the lake, smooth as a mirror, and the vast expanse of snow, enveloping everything in the vicinity in a soft, pale glow that dispelled the darkness and eeriness of the night.
Yet, the now-transformed Gleaming Scale Serpent no longer had a personal understanding of concepts such as darkness or brightness.
Back when it was still a serpent, its view of the world was already vastly different from that of humankind, and now it had completely transcended the biological realm, transforming not just through evolution but sublimating into an Elemental Spirit.
Although it spent its life as a serpent many times longer than it has existed as an Elemental Life, recalling those times now felt like peering across a vast expanse of years, even tinged with a sense of vagueness.
The exceptionally keen Perception and Intelligence of the Elemental Life allowed it to accumulate far more information and knowledge in this brief period than throughout its entire previous life.
For example, when it was a serpent entering the Queen’s grandfather’s study, it only had a basic and shallow understanding of “books,” “paper made by humans,” and “the warm fireplace.”
Now, however, it could understand every book on the shelves, every word on each page, and the knowledge and the thoughts and philosophies the author wished to convey that each paragraph contained.
With this newfound knowledge, it could measure the temperature of flames, observe the burning of charcoal, comprehend the meanings of patterns on the carpets, and from these deduce the origin of the woven fabrics.
The learning it underwent in the Count’s mansion enabled a leap in its intellectual development as a sentient being, although its naive life spent as a serpent was gradually diluted in this leap.
The only vividly colored memories that remained were those spent with the Queen.
It had lost its physical body, and also its reproductive capabilities as a biological entity, for as an Elemental Spirit, its lifespan was now beyond the reach of any flesh and blood creatures.
And reflecting on the daring act of courting the Queen initially, although the palpitation in its heart remained, the instinctual impulses were long gone.
The Gleaming Scale Serpent harbored no regrets about such transformations, setting aside the sublimation of its life form, as its meager perceptivity as a serpent creature would not even have allowed it to perceive the Queen’s features accurately, nor to recall her Magic Power traits, breathing rates, or heartbeat changes—
“Hmm?”
Feeling an anomaly in the Queen’s Magic Power, the Gleaming Scale Serpent swiftly transformed into a humanoid form, adopting the appearance of a middle-aged housekeeper in formal attire. He did not directly disturb the Hero but rather hurried to the side of the Chocobo Cart in two strides of three steps.
Opening the door, he noticed that on the black block inside the carriage, one Rune after another lit up, emitting a peculiar Radiance.
The Gleaming Scale Serpent was taken aback.
“The forging program has started?”
He turned his head toward the ice house where the Hero was located. The girl inside was still sleeping soundly. Magic Power was gradually connecting with the block with no signs of her waking up.
To assist the Hero, the Gleaming Scale Serpent had also studied a considerable amount of knowledge on Forging before departure and had gotten a manual from the Count and the Old Factory Manager that was thicker than brick.
Utilizing the intelligence of an Elemental Life, he pondered briefly and then immediately recalled the pertinent records.
[Styles]
1. Weapon
2. Armor♛
3. Jewelry
4. Dress
5. Lists relate to other options
[Properties]
1. Day
2. Moon
3. Star
4. Blood♛
5. Lists relate to other options
9. Holy
10. Critical Success / Extreme Failure
→☆→☆→☆→✧←★←★←★←
As an Elemental Life, Fantasy Snow Gleaming Scales not only possessed extraordinary Perceptivity but also exceptional Intelligence.
Just as nature carves each snowflake intricately at a microscopic level, out of reach of human craft, according to the Count, the very structure of Elemental Life endowed them with powerful computational and analytical capabilities.
The Count referenced the properties of Elemental Life in constructing the Arcane Workshop to ensure the precision and stability of the forging program.
Though such intelligence cannot be directly equated with Wisdom, it was sufficient for the Gleaming Scale Serpent to recall relevant records in a breath.
It was a powerful piece of Equipment frequently mentioned in ancient texts.
[Legendary Equipment: Blood Armor (Deciding nature, 1 is Cursed Equipment, 2 may evolve into Holy Artifact)]
1. Unfulfilled Curse Hatred♛
2. Holy Revenge
Even though current policies emphasizing internal stability by the Saintess and the structured development of the Professional Guild system had reduced many dark and unjust incidents in Kingdom society, they had not been entirely eradicated.
The darkness within human nature also never disappeared.
In distant antiquity, powerful Magic Creatures regarded humans as domesticated livestock, possessing the cruelty and evil similar to large Goblins. However, this cruelty was not exclusive to Magic Creatures; the oppression and exploitation among humans were equally chilling.
While the modern era of slavery might seem unfamiliar to the Hero, it was by no means a far-off issue.
Though slavery has now been completely abolished, in the long history of the Kingdom, the duration when slavery existed far exceeded the time when it…