Chapter 21: One’s True Colors (Part 1/2) (1/2)

Chapter 21: One’s True Colors (Part 1/2)

A soft electronic bell rang in the distance. It was now eight in the morning. The act of a new day began once more, revealing the morning scene of bustling inefficiency.

Luo Nan waited a long time for the ardent person to come back, but he saw that several of the thugs who had been knocked silly to the ground were starting to recover their strength. He didn’t want to fix this giant mess, so he just simply turned around and walked away.

He didn’t ask to see who was the person targeting him, partly because he didn’t believe that these thugs really knew what was going on behind the scenes, and partly because he was able to form an approximate conclusion from looking at the needleless syringe and its special solution contained inside.

The classroom teacher was lecturing within the classroom. Not a single word was heard by Luo Nan’s ear. Instead the notebook laid open in front of Luo Nan and the fluorescent pen was tracing the abstract symbol. He made use of the color matching function within the software to change the lines into a dark red color. There seemed to be no difference whatsoever between these lines and the lines within the Fixed Space.

Luo Nan stared at the symbol drawn on his notebook. He automatically felt a corresponding response with the burning wraith.

This symbol was quite the marvel. When Luo Nan tried to reconstruct the burning wraith’s definite form anew from its core, he had an inexplicable feeling that any additional stroke would ruin it; it would be like drawing legs on a snake.

How could a mere dozen or so entwined and coiling lines already describe all the characteristics of the burning wraith? The details were all fully packed; it was impossible for Luo Nan to even begin.

He gripped the pen, wishing to draw but was unable to, causing his stifled heart to be uncomfortable. Then Luo Nan simply stopped seeking perfection. He sketched out lines in a casual and relaxed manner, and the pen moved freely with a mind of its own. All the while his mind was lost in thought; he was thinking of the reason for the abstract symbol’s appearance.

The burning wraith had been surrounded and annihilated on the warship. This was an undoubtable and undeniable fact. But this symbol that appeared on the chains within his visualization was truly real.

Luo Nan deliberated over thoughts, but could only come up with a single reason: The heavily chained crow had analyzed and acquired the marvels of the burning wraith’s core layer when the burning wraith was under its control. Even though the burning wraith had been annihilated, its core characteristics were left behind as vestiges upon the chain, giving the chain an additional ability.

And so the warning that was issued due to the crisis this morning was not done by the heavily chained crow, but rather this symbol of the burning wraith. This was likely due to the burning wraith’s extremely sensitive nature towards fear, savagery, and other negative emotions. Luo Nan had borrowed this property for his own use to become quite the special skill.

Luo Nan could also feel the symbol’s existence become a bit stronger than before now that the crisis was over. Even now the symbol seemed to continue to restore in strength.

Could it be that the burning wraith could rely on this symbol to resurrect itself?

Luo Nan’s thoughts stirred in his mind. If things really were like this… Oh my, there would be nothing better. The combat strength of the burning wraith had already been fully revealed upon the warship. If he had this kind of “bodyguard”, why would he fear those campus thugs? He would just turn around and enter the professional society. He would have one more ace up his sleeve. He would feel much more relaxed.

Was there a way to increase the recovery speed of the burning wraith? Oh?

Luo Nan suddenly felt the tip of his pen go astray. He looked at his notebook and saw that the perfect abstract symbol had already been drawn to a mess. It looked like the burning wraith, but there was something completely wrong about it.

But, it seemed like he could still draw some more.

Unexpected thoughts and ideas like those of demons and ghosts sprouted in Luo Nan’s mind. They combined with an inexplicable burst of inspiration to make Luo Nan suddenly interested.

Luo Nan had been reducing his drawing most of the time. All the structures, lines, and shadow layouts were being simplified to leave behind and prominently display the most basic core characteristics of the source material.

He could only recall of one instance when he made an addition to the drawing. That was when he made a breakthrough and implemented “My Heart’s a Prison”. He only had an abstract idea back then; the drawing had lacked the essence for a matching form. But details were padded out through unending bursts of inspiration, building a grand structure at the last moment and drawing out the heavily chained crow from within.

The current situation was somewhat similar to yesterday’s.

He did not have as much insight, but as long as he had a clear idea on the general direction, he could still generate a considerable amount of relevant details and clues.

Luo Nan continue to patch and repair here and there on the botched drawing. A certain image that had been hidden deep in his mind and had yet to be formed was now slowly becoming clearer and clearer.