Heir of Synthesis: The World Mage

[The will of an important ally has been detected!]

[Connect to this will to receive the rewards.]

Priam read the green screens thoughtfully.

”This...” Murima’s voice was filled with astonishment.

Priam was the most stunned of all.

The origin of the Nexus Seed and the System was a complete mystery to him. But now, he had discovered that he had important allies.

Perhaps his future journey wouldn’t be as lonely as he had imagined.

Murima trembled from head to toe, then immediately dropped to her knees, startling Priam.

”It really is... it really is a Missionary of the Goddess!”

Her voice rang out loudly, and everyone around them became completely dumbfounded.

Priam swallowed hard.

’The Six Sovereigns accused the Goddess of being an Invader... I was accused of the same thing... don’t tell me...’

Priam fell into deep thought.

From all appearances, he truly was an Invader.

After all, he had heard directly from the Sovereigns that Earth and pure humans did not exist in this world.

So if the System declared that she was an important ally, then this Goddess might truly have been an Invader as well.

”Lord Missionary, please! Come over here.”

Murima spoke, overflowing with emotion.

Taking a deep breath, Priam continued walking forward under the fixed gazes of everyone around him.

He stopped in front of Murima.

She bowed and pointed toward the object hanging from the statue’s neck.

”Please receive the Goddess’s Mark.”

Priam narrowed his eyes.

”Is this important to you? What does it do? I don’t know anything about this Missionary business.”

Murima nodded.

”This mark is something our tribe has possessed since ancient times. But we cannot use it. Only a Missionary of the Goddess can.

”So it has no use to us at all.

”As for its purpose... forgive us, we don’t know.

”We only know that before leaving, the Goddess gave her mark to each of her allied races. She said that when a mark reacts to someone, it means that person is her destined Missionary and must inherit the mark.

”In time, that Missionary will come to understand everything.”

Priam listened with a confused expression.

If those words were true, then the Vanculari race should possess one of these as well.

Thinking about it...

The Vanculari race wasn’t just the Ylisse Clan.

The race had most likely split apart in order to survive in different places. The branch that kept this thing was probably not the one that eventually became his clan.

”Please, just touch it,” Murima said gently, pointing toward it.

Priam took a few slow steps forward and extended his hand toward the statue.

Suddenly, the glow from that small object became much, much brighter.

It was almost as if a sun had been ignited in the middle of the forest.

Everyone was instantly blinded.

Everyone except Priam.

He clearly saw a small multicolored rune emerge from the object on the statue and float toward him.

It entered his soul, moved into his Nexus Seed, and settled there calmly.

Suddenly—

’You’ve finally arrived... Don’t waste your time, and don’t waste even a single second, no matter how safe you think you are.’

A gentle female voice, yet filled with concern, echoed inside his mind.

’It’s only a matter of time before you’re discovered, just as I was.’

’I left my marks with my five allied races. These marks were created using the power my Master gave me. They will strengthen the Nexus Seed within your body and help you survive.’

’This is your only chance.’

’I repeat: do not waste time.’

The moment the voice vanished—

[The will of an important ally has been successfully absorbed!]

Priam snapped out of his daze and nervously read the green screen.

[First World Mage Technique has been unlocked!]

[Rumbling Heavens]

[Note: This Technique cannot be used at your current Rank. Advance to Mage Disciple, and this innate technique will be assimilated.]

Priam took a deep breath, completely shaken and unsure what to think about all of this.

’Well... I’m very close to becoming a Mage Disciple. At most, I’ll be able to use it within a year.’

All the light disappeared.

The statue no longer possessed that colorful glow, becoming nothing more than a wooden carving with almost no detail remaining.

Silence.

Priam turned toward Murima, unsure of what to say.

But after a few seconds, she stood up and smiled.

”Now, our tribe can proudly say that we fulfilled the Goddess’s mission. Even if we were to disappear tomorrow, we could face our ancestors with pride.”

Everyone around them clenched their fists, full of excitement.

To them, the words of that Goddess and her promise to return were all they had left.

A Missionary was likely someone who would contribute to her eventual return. The fact that they had found one filled them with endless pride.

Murima took a few slow steps toward Priam and stopped in front of him. Then she pulled something out of a spatial ring on her finger.

Priam saw a small silver vial that seemed to contain some kind of liquid.

”This is Wood Spirit Essence. This elixir possesses a magical natural power and is created as a side effect of the technique the Goddess gave our race. For us, a small amount helps us blend into nature and remain hidden. For other races, its power is capable of completely restoring their life energy once.”

”I can’t accept that. You’ll still need it to survive here...” Priam interrupted immediately.

”Don’t worry about that. Little Luvinah, with the small amount of Primordial power our race still possesses, already provides the same concealment effect for us. If she hadn’t returned, we could have used this to survive in hiding for another thousand years... but it wouldn’t have changed our fate, because she was the last one. Since she’s alive, you must accept it. The Missionary must inherit our essence; that is the Goddess’s rule.”

Hearing those words, Priam snorted.

He knew these people took such rules very seriously.

He would have to accept it.

Murima turned toward Luvinah, who was still standing dazed off to the side.

”Now everything is settled. Didn’t you want to show him around?”

Luvinah smiled and hurried to her feet, her light footsteps carrying her toward him. With a bright and radiant smile, she extended her hand, naturally reaching for his arm.

But...

She grabbed nothing but air.

On pure instinct, almost violently fast, Priam sidestepped away.

It was a complete combat reflex, far too abrupt and obvious.

Luvinah’s smile froze.

Everyone around them stopped moving.

The atmosphere instantly became strange.

For a fraction of a second, a dark and heavy shadow passed across Priam’s face.

He fixed his gaze on Luvinah, took a deep breath, and forced his lungs to draw in air, pushing that visceral disgust back into the depths of his mind.

Beneath a mask of artificial indifference, his revulsion disappeared.

’Damn it... How embarrassing. I actually had to dodge the touch of a little girl...’

He cursed inwardly as a drop of cold sweat ran down the back of his neck.

Now that he had developed some affection for her, and was fully aware that she was technically an adult, the mere idea of physical closeness caused his entire operating system to crash.

”Big Brother... I’m sorry...” Luvinah murmured, her shoulders shrinking as she lowered her head.

She looked confused and visibly hurt by the sudden rejection.

Priam let out a heavy sigh and tried to soften his tone.

”You don’t need to apologize... I just... have a strange medical condition. Something contagious. It’s better not to get too close to me for now.”

Luvinah’s eyes widened.

The excuse sounded ridiculous.

After all, not long ago he had held her hand for quite a while without showing the slightest discomfort.

”Don’t worry, you’ll be fine,” Murima interrupted, looking at Priam with an enigmatic smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Then she turned toward the young girl and adopted a stern expression.

”Even setting our benefactor’s condition aside, Luvinah, you’re already an adult. You can’t go around grabbing people like that, especially a man. It makes people uncomfortable and creates misunderstandings. Save that kind of intimacy for when you’ve truly gotten to know each other and mutual trust has been established.”

Luvinah nodded, her cheeks flushed red, and apologized once more in a timid whisper.

However, the atmosphere among the others remained strangely tense.

Aside from the young girl, every member of that race possessed extraordinarily sharp senses, capable of reading the deepest and most subtle fluctuations of a soul.

And what they had sensed during that millisecond of Priam’s retreat was not shyness, pride, or disdain.

It was a glimpse of an open, torn, and bleeding wound within Priam’s psyche.

A trauma that refused to heal, radiating an ancient and silent agony.

For mages of their level, a mental fracture of that magnitude was equivalent to an eternal sentence.

As a Mage ascended in power, the mind ceased to be a mere observer and began exerting real influence over the fabric of the external world.

To cultivate such dense and corrupted darkness within oneself was the perfect breeding ground for the birth of a Mind Demon.

If that conceptual entity awakened, it would not merely devour Priam’s sanity.

It would manifest a catastrophic disaster for everyone around him.

The danger was so extreme that most great sects would immediately exile or execute any disciple showing such symptoms, cutting out the root of the problem before the inevitable collapse.

But...

When Priam took a deep breath, everything disappeared.

They could no longer sense it.

That was what made it so strange.

Someone carrying a seed like that within their mind should radiate it constantly. For their race, it should have been incredibly easy to detect.

What exactly was wrong with him?

Completely unaware of their thoughts, Priam cleared his throat, breaking the collective trance.

”Take me wherever you want. My schedule is free today, so I don’t mind the trip,” he said slowly.

The moment she heard those words, the light instantly returned to Luvinah’s eyes.