Chapter 79: Chapter 79: New Life

Until the twelfth second.

The eyes of this White Seagull suddenly underwent a magical transformation. Like the large red eye, its originally round pupils turned into narrow vertical slits like a clock hand, then instantly returned to their original shape.

Flap flap–

The White Seagull flew to Aiven’s arm. After inspecting it carefully through Data Visualization and Spiritual Perception, Aiven breathed a sigh of relief.

“Succeeded!”

Its appearance hadn’t changed the slightest, but through deeper connection, Aiven confirmed that this White Seagull had acquired the gifted ability of “Extraordinary Sense of Direction,” or more accurately, its originally strong sense of direction had been exponentially enhanced, achieving qualitative transformation.

“Thank you for your hard work!”

Gently stroking the back of the Seagull’s neck as encouragement, Aiven showed no embarrassment for his earlier thoughts of “Since White Seagulls are the most abundant, it’s no bother if one or two fail!”

The first success paved the way for everything to proceed smoothly afterward.

One by one, sea birds of various sizes landed in front of the large red eye to meet its gaze, activated their abilities and then flapped away, making way for the next.

Though based on species, size, and original talents, the time each sea bird spent varied, as did the energy consumption of the Array.

As dawn approached, the Array’s power was down to a thin layer, and the large red eye grew very faint. At this moment, the last member of the bird flock, which was also the most special, silently landed on the ground.

But this was no sea bird; it was an exceedingly adorable snow-white owl.

It was precisely the subject Aiven planned to transform into the “Base Station.”

Based on past experiences, Aiven knew that owls were remarkably slow-witted among birds, far less clever than “geniuses” like crows and parrots.

However, in Mysticism, owls hold unique symbolic meaning. In various Schools and even within the Divine Church, they are considered symbols of “Wisdom.”

Thus, as a Wizard rather than a scientist, Aiven chose the owl genuinely, rather than the mysterious “crow” or the parrot, often the quintessential companion of many Pirate Captains in films.

As for the intelligence of owls in the Extraordinary World, he was unsure, but Aiven was bold enough to rely on Witchcraft over intellect… he was prepared mentally for this.

Fortunate indeed.

Owls, which naturally had no particular talent for directions, successfully gained the magical ability of Extraordinary Sense of Direction after exhausting the last of the ritual’s Array power.

Yet, it’s noteworthy that Aiven never had the desire to personally test this ability, even after the ritual’s red eye had completely dissipated.

As the caster, he knew that while such an ability was valuable, especially for a sailor enduring long journeys at sea, it could require permanently altering a small part of the soul’s essence, a sacrifice Aiven was genuinely unwilling to make.

Before fully understanding the principles of this Witchcraft, Aiven would never apply it to himself.

As the sun rose.

Aiven dismantled the outer Spiritual Barrier and Barrier Wall. A breeze swept through, scattering the material ashes and residues left from the ritual across the ground.

The smooth bluestone remained unchanged, as if nothing had happened there.

Afterwards, Aiven rested the entire day. Although his Constitution allowed him not to sleep for a week straight, this day was mainly for the birds to adjust to their new abilities.

The next night, the second phase of the ritual began anew.

To ensure stable “signal,” the Base Station’s bandwidth, memory, and CPU all had to meet standards.

Owls naturally possess well-developed auditory nerves, and their concave facial disks aid greatly in information collection. The main goal of the second ritual step was upgrading its memory and CPU, critical hardware.

Routine setup of Barrier Wall and Spiritual Barrier to avoid disruptions.

Unlike the first phase, Aiven began preparations as soon as dusk fell, although the ritual’s official start time was similar to the first.

Somewhat annoyed, though this time the only focus was the owl, drawing the rune technique, which was far more complex, took Aiven three full hours, consuming more precious materials than last time.

But Aiven knew his designed technique merely met the ritual’s fundamental requirements; it was restricted by his current knowledge and abilities, with much redundancy and shortcomings.

Many parts managed to achieve expected results only by relying on the ultimate hack of “Knowledge insufficient, Golden Lion make up,” leading to much waste of precious materials and a substantial depletion of his finances.

“If it doesn’t succeed this time, I’m going to stew you!” Aiven threatened his owl, staring adorably with its head turned 180 degrees.

However, perfecting the knowledge system and continuously improving the ritual were tasks for the future; as long as today’s transformation reached the minimal expected goals, it would be a great success!

With the moon at its zenith, the forest’s Spiritual Energy reached its peak.

Long chants rich in natural Vitality poured from Aiven’s mouth as the owl, pitifully bound and lying on the ground, gradually calmed from restless struggles, then fell into a deep sleep.

With the “Sacrifice” of what seemed like a primate brain tissue placed at the Array’s four corners slowly weathering to ash, a red mist began to spread from the center, intensifying in a brief span till it nearly illuminated the entire transformed forest.

Voom–

At its peak brightness, the red light suddenly collapsed inward, enveloping the owl at the center in layers of red Spiritual Light, finally forming a thick, blood-colored cocoon.

Countless blood-colored lines formed by the rune technique on the ground seemed to animate, slowly creeping like vine roots. Gradually converging to gently lift the owl-turned cocoon, suspending it in air like a malformed tree bearing a massive fruit.

Thump… thump… thump…

Faint heartbeats of the owl echoed from within the cocoon, sounding like drums in the deliberately silent surroundings.

“There’s nothing more I can do. Rely on your own luck!”

Everything that needed doing was done, now it was up to the owl’s own fate. Aiven didn’t waste time waiting, sitting cross-legged as he gradually entered meditation.

While arming himself with external objects, he never forgot that inner strength was his true foundation, and enhancement came through incremental accumulation.

The owl’s transformation took longer than Aiven expected; with days passing, the meat-like cocoon swelled several folds, turning translucent.

Peering through, he could see the owl, considerably larger now, curled with eyes closed, occasionally twitching like a human restless in semi-wakefulness.

“You must succeed!”

From this moment, Aiven remained close without meditation or meals, waiting to witness the owl’s rebirth!

Finally reaching the dusk of the second day.

Pop–

With the sound of a bubble bursting, Aiven’s spirit stirred.