Chapter 9: Blessing
Chapter 9: Blessing
“Consume 200 Skill Points to Level Up to Intermediate System Level 4.”
Confirm.
“Congratulations, Host. System upgrade completed. The System Shop is now open. Happy shopping.”
Zhai Guangyi instantly felt as if he had returned to a modern supermarket. Could this System be a salesperson? He had spent so many Skill Points just to upgrade to Level 4. If the System Shop was filled with junk, he would be devastated.
An icon for the System Shop appeared in Zhai Guangyi’s mind. He opened it.
Inside, three categories of items were listed: Equipment, Items, and Blessings.
Equipment was fairly standard—things like armor and weapons, mostly common items from the Cold War era. However, there were also things not found on Earth, such as magic staffs, and in a wide variety. Prices ranged from as low as 1 System Currency to as high as several million.
But Zhai Guangyi was a tree! No matter how good these items were, he couldn’t use them. How could a tree wear armor or wield a sword?
He skipped the Equipment category entirely and switched to Items.
The Items category was also diverse, including things like Magic Power Recovery Potions, Healing Potions, Magic Circles, and even Magic Crystals. However, these Magic Crystals were labeled as “high-explosive.”
They were like grenades—the Magic Power inside them was highly unstable, exploding upon shattering. Prices varied widely, from as low as 1 System Currency to as high as 10,000 System Currency.
Magic Circles were quite useful. For example, he could exchange for defensive Magic Circles that acted like barriers. However, Magic Circles weren’t cheap. Defensive ones were the most expensive, especially since Zhai Guangyi’s size required large-scale versions, which started at over 1,000 System Currency.
The final category was Blessings, which Zhai Guangyi found most intriguing.
He opened it, only to find a single item listed: Blessing Power. One unit of Blessing Power cost a hefty 1,000 System Currency.
Zhai Guangyi hadn’t expected such a broad category to contain only one item, and such an expensive one at that.
System, what does this Blessing Power do?
“Please purchase to learn more details.”
…
Zhai Guangyi currently had 1,100 System Currency. Driven by curiosity about its function, he decided to buy it.
“Ding, confirm purchase of Blessing Power ×1.”
Purchase.
“Blessing Power has been stored in the Host’s System Space. Please retrieve it when needed.”
Zhai Guangyi hadn’t realized he had a System Space. He quickly focused his consciousness to check.
Inside the empty System Space, only a single floating golden sphere hovered, glowing like a small sun.
System, now can you tell me what this thing does?
“Blessing Power is a blessing bestowed by a higher being upon a lower being. Blessing Power cannot be used on entities of higher standing than oneself.
The Blessed One’s Blessing can assist or trigger evolution in the recipient, or grant them skills corresponding to the higher being.
Blessing Power itself is a manifestation of the Soul. Please use it with caution.”
After hearing the System’s explanation, Zhai Guangyi was dumbfounded. After all the effort spent accumulating Skill Points for the shop and spending so much System Currency, it turned out this was still for others to use, not himself.
In the entire System Shop, only some Items or Magic Circles offered any practical help to him. The rest were of little use.
Zhai Guangyi looked down at the three bears sleeping at the base of the tree.
He now stood two hundred meters tall, taller than most buildings on Earth. Considering the Great Pyramid of Giza is only 146 meters, his current height of 200 meters gave a sense of just how massive he had become.
He was the only tree of his size in the entire forest, towering far above the others. If someone were to look up from the ground, they would likely struggle to see where the shadow cast by his canopy ended.
With his two-hundred-meter vantage point, Zhai Guangyi could see much farther, yet he still couldn’t make out the boundaries of this forest. It seemed to stretch on endlessly. Not far from him, however, was an equally boundless river that cut through the woods.
To the south, an endless range of mountains loomed, their peaks faintly visible and capped with white. The north was relatively flat, with nothing but trees fading into the horizon.
Even a two-hundred-meter giant tree was, in this forest, merely a taller tree among many.
Zhai Guangyi shifted his focus back to the three bears. He wanted to test the Blessing Power on the Giant Bear. After all, he had already “purchased” it—not using it would be a waste. It wasn’t as if he could pass it down as a family heirloom; as a tree, he had no descendants.
“Use Blessing Power on Frenzied Black Bear (Nameless)?”
Confirm.
A golden light shot from the tree trunk and pierced straight into the Giant Bear’s forehead.
Zhai Guangyi had his reasons for not using it on Xiong Da and Xiong Er. For one, they weren’t strong enough yet, so the boost would likely be minimal. Moreover, they were probably Transmigrators. Even though none of them could speak yet, it was better to be cautious.
As for the Transmigrator matter—after the battle, Xiong Da and Xiong Er had started gathering wood, seemingly to fence off the area. If that didn’t scream “Transmigrator,” he’d eat the bird droppings on his trunk right then and there.
Since becoming a tree, he’d often been showered with bird droppings on his leaves—an unavoidable nuisance. Zhai Guangyi would use Wind Control to blow the mess onto neighboring trees.
If those trees had consciousness, they’d probably curse him: “Got any manners? Using my leaves as throwing knives is bad enough, but blowing excrement over too?”
His thoughts returned to the Giant Bear on the ground. The moment the golden sphere entered her forehead, the black bear roared, her face contorted in agony. With only one claw left, she frantically scraped at the ground, as if enduring something unbearable.
Zhai Guangyi was startled. Wasn’t the Blessing supposed to be a good thing? Why was the Giant Bear in such pain?
Just as he wondered this, her severed arm began to regrow. The corroded area around her left eye started to heal, and her skin became less grotesque.
Beyond recovering from her injuries, it seemed the Blessing wasn’t over yet. But the Giant Bear no longer appeared to be in as much distress. Her expression grew serene, as if she were savoring the changes taking place.
Her fur began to shed. The once three-meter-tall bear started to shrink, black hair scattering across the ground. Stagnant blood and impurities seeped from her skin, and a sleek head of black hair began to regrow.
When it was all over, a muscular woman stood upright before Zhai Guangyi’s giant tree. Not only was Zhai Guangyi stunned, but the two bear cubs were utterly dumbfounded.
This bear brother—no, this female warrior—must be the bear brother from earlier. Who would have thought bear brother was actually female.
Appraisal.
Race: Elven Sacred Bear (Nameless)
Level: 37
Life Value: 3000
Magic Power: 300
Skills: Berserk Level 5, Stealth Level 2, Spirit Magic Level 1.
Blessed One: Nameless
“Please, master, grant me a name!”
This female warrior suddenly knelt before the giant tree, shouting toward the sky.
Zhai Guangyi looked at the female warrior’s actions with some surprise. She even wanted him to give her a name. Even if he came up with one, how was he supposed to tell her?
Still, Zhai Guangyi instinctively responded to her in his mind. Since you’re a bear and fight so fiercely, how about calling you “Xiong Batian”? Hahaha, just kidding.
Zhai Guangyi was joking in his mind, but just as he was about to think seriously, he heard:
“Thank you, master, for granting me a name. From today onward, I am Xiong Batian.”
Xiong Batian laughed wildly at the sky, repeating her name over and over.
Zhai Guangyi was dumbfounded. After turning human, this bear brother’s mind wasn’t right. And how did she hear his inner voice?
“After the master’s Blessing, my soul is connected to the master’s.”
Zhai Guangyi truly hadn’t expected he could communicate with other creatures like this. He had many questions for Xiong Batian, but he still felt something was off about the name. So, he said in his mind:
“This name Xiong Batian doesn’t seem to suit your gender very well. How about we change it?”
Upon hearing Zhai Guangyi wanted to change her name, Xiong Batian’s face fell into a sorrowful expression, like a little woman whose husband was leaving her, all gloomy and heartbroken—though this “little woman” stood two meters tall.
“Forget it, let’s not change it. As long as you like it.”
Looking at the female warrior’s expression, Zhai Guangyi couldn’t bear to watch. It wasn’t that she looked bad, but seeing such a burly woman acting all coy and hesitant was too much. Zhai Guangyi simply gave up and let her have her way.
Hearing Zhai Guangyi’s confirmation, she immediately cheered up again.
“Thank you, master, for granting me a name.”
Seeing how much she seemed to like the name, Zhai Guangyi could only smile helplessly.
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Nice