I Reincarnated As A Stick

Chapter 361: Meeting of Two Spiriveritae

While Argentum was still in Verdant Breeze Town talking with Felix and the others regarding the plans to improve the town as a whole, something else was happening near Eleanor’s Flame Spirit Inheritance.

Inside it, one would find a corridor where a being that seemed to be made out of green jade could be seen at the very end of it. On its head was an exquisitely crafted crown while its facial features were on the more handsome side of the spectrum. Taking into consideration the massive amount of blood red particles circling around this being, this being was none other than Aurus.

At this moment, he was continuing to grind out [Purification of Noble Blood], thinking that having this skill maxed out at the start would be beneficial to him in the long run. In fact, after grinding out the skill for quite some time, he had already a bit of the benefits that came along with the skill as his perception regarding the various elements had improved.

Nevertheless, from the 11,000 points he had a few days ago just after Argentum had achieved the True Element level of understanding of the Wind element, his progress in the skill had only increased to around 35,000 points. Surprisingly, Aurus wasn’t really bothered by that as he noticed that he had already reached the limit of his progression speed for the skill. All he had to do next was just to patiently grind the skill until it had reached the maximum possible level.

Though, in the midst of him purifying his bloodline, a voice unfamiliar to him resounded in his mind out of nowhere. At first, he could not help but inwardly frown as he wondered which being would dare disturb him while he was giving his all into purifying his bloodline. But, as he listened to the unfamiliar voice’s words, his expression and attitude had taken a 180 degree turn.

‘Verdante, come out.’

Although the unfamiliar voice just said three words, that was more than enough for Aurus to make a move as he stood up before heading to where Eleanor was. Of course, although she was still in the middle of having a talk with Argentum and the others, Eleanor noticed that Aurus had gone out of his room, prompting her to ask him, “Are you going somewhere?”

In response, Aurus nodded as he replied, “I’m just going outside for a while to test some of my skills. Is that fine?”

Eleanor nodded as she placed his request at the back of his head. She then sent a bit of energy to Aurus’ body as she told him, “I’ve infused you with a bit of my energy so you can use it to enter and leave the inheritance whenever you want. If it were any other time, I wouldn’t have minded manually doing it, but I’m currently busy.”

“No need to apologize, uh…Miss Eleanor,” Aurus scratched his head as he pondered over how he should respond to her words, taking on a slightly formal tone. After that, he used the energy Eleanor infused into him to leave the Flame Spirit Inheritance, appearing not long after a few meters away from the charred building that served as the inheritance’s entrance.

He then looked around to see where that unfamiliar voice came from, only to hear that voice resound in his mind one more time as it said, “Head outside of the Inferno Plains.”

“Well, sure,” Aurus muttered in response as he shrugged his shoulders before using [Omnipresent Movement] to teleport to a place that was near the borders of the Inferno Plains.

Whoosh!

Not long after, he appeared a few meters away from the barrier that housed the atmosphere of the Inferno Plains, taking in the sight of the vibrant wilderness as he muttered to himself, “It’s been a while since I’ve been this far out.”

He then let out an awkward chuckle as he thought to himself, ‘Then again, I’ve only been to Tempest Cliff and the Inferno Plains as of late.’

While Aurus was in the middle of basking in the beauty of the wilderness, a human that seemed to be made out of gray bark manifested right behind him as it said to him in an indifferent tone, “I guess this is the first time we’re meeting each other, Verdante.”

In an instant, Argentum turned around to face the origin of that sound as he was trying to make sure that he didn’t look like he was shocked on the outside. Of course, who wouldn’t be shocked to find out that someone was behind you all this time without feeling their presence at all.

Inwardly taking in a deep breath, he looked at the humanoid in front of him as he thought to himself, ‘This guy looks like me…if it wasn’t for the bark that made up its body. Is this a unique trait of the Spiriveritas or something?’

Unsurprisingly, the reason why Aurus heeded the unfamiliar voice’s words was due to it knowing his codename as a Spiriveritas. Although he heard from Horell and Argentum how he was designated as the thirteenth Spiriveritas back in the Verdant Blossom Branch Alliance, he still wasn’t sure that he was actually part of that organization even if he had obtained skills related to it. But now that he was called by someone that seemed to be part of that organization, his doubts had now disappeared.

Recalling what the humanoid said to him, Aurus then responded in a somewhat formal tone, “Indeed. This is the first time we’re meeting each other…uh…”

“My codename is Erudis,” the bark-like man replied.

“Ah. A pleasure to meet you, Erudis,” Aurus hastily fixed his previous greeting as he responded with a smile.

In response to Aurus’s greeting, Erudis lightly nodded before looking at Aurus from head to toe with a pondering expression. Not long after, he told Aurus, “Your appearance is…quite unique.”

Unlike Erudis’s current appearance, whose skin took on a bark-like quality while being ash gray in color, Aurus’s appearance was definitely a far cry from it, having smooth green skin that showed some of the qualities of a polished gem.

Scratching his head as he listened to Erudis’s words, Aurus could not help but let out an awkward chuckle as he said, “Thanks, I guess?”

“Well, formalities aside, let me re-introduce myself,” Erudis said not long after Aurus was done talking, not caring whether or not this statement felt abrupt to the latter.

“My codename is Erudis, I am the progenitor of the Spiriveritae, as well as the one considered as the first Spiriveritas of Erudinia. I am the wielder of the Epiphany of Omniscience,” he continued talking, making Aurus feel slightly surprised as he never thought the first Spiriveritas would be the one meeting him.

“If you have any questions you would like to ask me regarding the Spiriveritas or any other topic, I’ll answer it to the best of my abilities,” Erudis said after that before adding, “If you have time after that, I’ll introduce you to the two Spiriveritae that are situated in the same continent as you.”

“Can we postpone the latter for later?” Aurus instantly asked in response before saying, “I don’t really want to meet the others yet in my current state.”

“Is it because you feel inferior in front of them? If so, fret not. The Spiriveritae will definitely not mistreat you just because your strength is subpar compared to them,” Erudis said not long after, prompting Aurus to shake his head as he replied, “It’s not that. I just feel like…I don’t feel like I fit this title of Spiriveritas.”

“In fact, I wasn’t expecting to obtain this title in the first place,” Aurus said not long after as he looked at Erudis. Surprisingly, a light smile was plastered on Erudis’s face, whose face had a neutral expression all this time. With a short chuckle, Erudis told him, “You definitely fit the position of a Spiriveritas. Out of all the Spiritii that exist in the world of Erudinia, only you have shown the traits of a Spiriveritas.”

“And what trait would that be?” Aurus asked, only to be left at a loss for words with Erudis’s next response.

“The trait of being able to fight against someone multiple levels higher than you.”

‘Is that even considered a trait?’ Aurus could not help but think to himself, recalling that the only reason he was able to unleash such broken levels of power at his current level was all thanks to the system he had obtained from Kurohana.

Thinking that it was a joke, Aurus let out a chuckle as he asked, “Surely you must be joking, right?”

In response, Erudis shook his head as Aurus went silent. Soon after, Erudis opened his mouth as he said, “I’m not jesting at all. That trait is the most important requirement for one to become a Spiriveritas. Of course, not all Spiritii that could fight against someone at a level of power higher than them are eligible to become a Spiriveritas. Only those who could surmount a massive gap, like you, are eligible for it.”

“Not only that, one would also need to have the ability to proliferate their bloodline, enhancing the strength of Spiritii as a whole,” he continued. “Fortunately, your current species has the ability to do that, allowing you to become the thirteenth Spiriveritas.”

“Well, moving on from that. Do you have any question you want me to answer?” Erudis then returned to topic to him answering Aurus’s questions once again. In actuality, Aurus had a lot to ask Erudis regarding the Spiriveritas, though he had a feeling that he wouldn’t be able to ask much. With that, he had to make sure that his questions would lead to the most detailed answers.

Pondering for a bit, Aurus then looked at Erudis as he asked, “Since you’re the progenitor of the Spiriveritae, what are the Spiriveritae? Why were the Spiriveritae made? What’s their current purpose?”

“Three questions at once, huh?” Erudis said in response to Aurus’s question before letting out a light chuckle. He then went silent for a bit before responding with a solemn expression, “Let’s start with your first question.”

“As the progenitor, I can tell you without a doubt that the Spiriveritas are considered as a unique variant of the Spiritas. That’s because the Spiriveritas are the only Inanimate species that is capable of achieving a level of power far beyond the Animates and the Transcendents.”

“Did you come up with the name Spiriveritas?” Aurus soon asked, to which Erudis responded, “Yes, I did. Spiriveritas comes from the word Spiritas, which is the original species our variant comes from and Veritas, which stands for…”

“Truth,” Aurus finished Erudis’s words, leaving the latter slightly shocked for a short while. If only he knew that Aurus took Latin class back in his previous life, he would be in for a shock.

Clearing his throat to remove the slight awkwardness in the atmosphere, Erudis nodded as he said, “Exactly. Of course, the word Veritas wasn’t chosen for no reason. That’s because the word Veritas relates to a unique trait only the Spiriveritas have, which is called Epiphany.”

As Erudis mentioned the word ‘Epiphany’, Aurus could not help but recall the other related skill he obtained after he was finished with his evolution. Fortunately, Erudis went ahead and explained what it was, telling Aurus, “Epiphany could be considered as our unique understanding of the world. Once we fully comprehend and grasp this unique understanding of ours, we shall achieve enlightenment and enter that unfathomable level of power capable of overpowering Animates and Transcendents.”

Listening to Erudis’s words, Aurus instantly understood what it was, relating it to something he used to have while he was still at the Lesser Divinity level in his previous life.

“Ah. Laws.”

Seeing that Aurus was satisfied with his answer regarding the first question, Erudis went ahead and continued with the second and third question, deciding to tackle them both at once.

“As to why the Spiriveritae were made, well…consider it as a rebellion against the natural order of progression. For us Inanimates, the normal path would be to ascend to the Pseudo-Animate or the Animate level once one reaches the maximum possible power at X-grade Inanimate. After that, one would enter the Transcendent level, and eventually, the unfathomable level after that,” Erudis said, making Aurus think that there was probably another reason as to why the Spiriveritae were made, but he couldn’t put his finger on it just yet.

“As for our current purpose, we maintain the balance and order of the Animate civilizations without letting the Animates know,” Erudis continued after that. “Of course, those at the highest positions know of our existence, though they fear us due to our power.”

“Does that answer all of your questions?” Erudis soon asked after he was finished answering, prompting Aurus to nod in response. But just as he was about to ask Erudis a few more questions, a solemn expression instantly appeared on Erudis’s face as he told Aurus, “My apologies. It seems an urgent matter I have to take care of has appeared just now. Let us hold our question and answer portion for a later time. I’ll also make sure to invite the Spiriveritae when that time comes.”

After that, Erudis went ahead and drew a magic circle on the ground that surrounded him, hastily infusing with energy as the space surrounding him started to warp. Just as Erudis was about to disappear from Aurus’s line of sight, he looked at Aurus for a quick second as his eyes widened with slight surprise.

Before fully disappearing from his sight, Erudis went ahead and told Aurus, “Before I leave, let me tell you what I’ve obtained from reading your fate.”

“It is recommended that you do not go out for now as your future fate is fraught with danger. Heed my words, Verdante. When I dictate something like this, there’s a high chance that it would surely occur in the future.”

Whoosh!

Not long after, Erudis, as well as the magic circle under him, disappeared in front of Aurus without a trace. Of course, Aurus didn’t care about that, with only Erudis’s final words lingering in his head.

“My future fate is fraught with danger?” Aurus could not help but mutter to himself. “I also obtained a prophecy from Argentum a few days ago. Are those two related in one way or another?”

Although he could not find the answer to this question right now, he made sure to commit this to memory as he went ahead and teleported back to the Flame Spirit Inheritance, adamant to increase his progress in [Purification of Noble Blood] to its maximum level.

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