novelonline Chapter 3974 Cutting and Joining
Chapter 3974 Cutting and Joining
Chapter 3974 Cutting and Joining
Shad's most vivid memory of fairy tales where people turn into animals is actually the story of the Frog Prince, but he knows that neither Dorothy nor Lacey likes frogs, so Shad doesn't mention it.
The story of "The Bloody Deception" is not long, and in Dorothy and Lacey's understanding, it can be divided into two parts: the "animal part" and the "human part".
Although the human part of the story only appears in the final twist, even if it is extracted separately and turned into "the bandits coerce the traveler into helping them divide the treasure, but are tricked by the clever traveler and end up killing each other, and finally the traveler takes the treasure away", it is still a very good story.
As for the animal stories, they are also quite rich in layers.
All four animals believed they deserved the pine cone more and abandoned humility and unity. The owl's suggestion of "one person to share, three people to choose" demonstrated wisdom and checks and balances. The fox's use of fur as a substitute for the pine cone showed a lack of honesty. Later, the three animals, enraged, plucked all the fox's fur, proving that being cunning comes at a price.
This story is a native fairy tale of this world. Although it does not have a very profound meaning, in Shad’s opinion, it is more suitable than most stories as an enlightenment story for children to understand the world.
Of course, this is on the premise that the fox in the story uses fox fur, not its flesh, to impersonate a pine cone.
Today was a bit rushed, so Dorothy only demonstrated her Transfiguration skills briefly, and then discussed the story with Shad from a literary perspective.
She and Lacey plan to begin next week to guide Shad in a deeper study of the fairy tale, tracing its origins, analyzing its versions, until Shad transforms the story into a new source of power for himself.
"There's something I'm curious about."
During a break from studying, Xia De asked:
"You and Lacey can use most of the magical arts each other possesses, so can you also use shapeshifting interchangeably? Lacey learned to turn into a squirrel, so Rosie, can you turn into a squirrel?"
The writer's answer was unexpected:
“Originally, it wasn’t allowed. We guessed this was because Transfiguration was more related to physical strength. But after the Red Butterfly Day this Monday, we discovered that we can freely use the opponent’s transformation forms.”
She noticed the change in Xia De's expression and comforted him:
"It's really nothing. Lacey and I guess it's because our souls connect when we make direct contact, which causes the power information recorded in our souls to be exchanged, and the transformation techniques of our bodies are also shared in the process. Megan and Audrey's situation is much worse than ours. Lacey and I are actually in pretty good shape right now."
Xia De pursed his lips:
"Grace and Helen's power actually addresses issues at the level of your souls. The problems you've been exhibiting all along are simply a trend of your souls merging. The destiny that the world originally intended for you is for your souls to merge into one."
But what will happen to the body if such a future actually occurs?
Dorothy smiled:
"Shad, so that's what you're worried about. Don't worry, Recia and I both had a premonition about this. If we were to go down that path, we would choose to have one person's body exist while the other becomes an empty shell, rather than having both bodies become one."
So don't worry, neither of us has any physical problems. This situation is simply a manifestation of the soul influencing the body. We're fine, no need to worry.
Not only did Xia De care about the feelings of the girls around him, but the girls also took care of Xia De's thoughts in the same way.
Dorothy and Lacey both noticed Shad's worries, so at midnight, Lacey specially used "Miracle Ink" to rewrite the snake's molt in order to spend this special time together during the Red Butterfly Day cycle.
However, she didn't actually come over. It happened at 11 p.m. Because of the heavy fog in Tobeskoye that night, Shad unusually only drew the curtain facing the head of the bed, while the other curtain remained open.
A hazy moonlight pierced through the thick fog outside the window and fell on Mia, who was curled up in her cat bed on the windowsill.
As for the bed in the bedroom, Dorothy, who was being held in Shad's arms, did not open her misty blue eyes again for a while. Her heartbeat was gradually calming down, but her golden hair was still stuck to the side of her cheeks with sweat.
"It's a bit hot~"
The girl said coquettishly, then asked Xia De:
"Let Lacia come over. She said everything's fine on her end."
Shad thought Dorothy wanted to switch places with Recia:
"Let me hold you a little longer. Dorothy, you can't do this. You're satisfied with yourself and then ignore my feelings, leaving me behind to rest."
He said this with a smile, and Dorothy, whose expression still held a hint of flirtation, laughed as well:
"Of course I'm not that kind of girl. I won't leave. I can't bear to. I'm just having Lacia come over, you see."
She reached her hand toward the doorway, and Shad picked her up and sat her up.
A dark golden light appeared in Dorothy's palm, and then a dark golden cube materialized. The small cube spun rapidly in her hand, and as space became chaotic, colorful patches of light continuously filled the space near the bedroom door.
The entire bedroom was divided in two; the normal part was the inner side near the window where the bed was, while the outer side gradually blurred into blocks of color. But as the dark gold cube in Dorothy's hand stopped spinning, that part of the room gradually became clear again.
The half of the bedroom that became clear was no longer the original one; it had been transformed into a lavishly decorated princess bedroom that didn't belong to this house.
Lacey's bedroom, where Shad had stayed many times, had also been divided in two and was now joined together with Shad's bedroom. Although the lights in Lacey's bedroom were also off, red candles of various sizes and heights were placed on the floor, bedside table, and desktop.
In the dim glow of the red candlelight, the princess, dressed in a thin nightgown, lay on her side on the bed, looking at Xia De with a smile on her face.
It's worth mentioning that, due to the spatial division, a third of Lacey's princess bed was "cut off." And in the newly assembled room, she's actually very close to Shad and Dorothy.
In the candlelight, Lacey's face became more alluring than ever before. She possessed a perfect languidness, and her gaze towards Shad held a similar watery quality to Dorothy's.
And for some reason, even though she wasn't wearing any other makeup, she still wore lipstick.
The red-haired princess said nothing, gave a charming smile, and beckoned to Xia De with her finger.
Dorothy noticed Shad's physical reaction with satisfaction, and Shad asked in disbelief:
"Spatial cutting and spatial assembly? You've learned that?"
Back when the outsider first arrived in this world as a ring sorcerer, Professor Garcia, the vice dean of the history academy who projected into his home, used a similar method to deal with Peter the "short mouse" of the Mercury Blood, who happened to be causing trouble for Shad during the professors' visit (Chapter 47).
Professor Garcia once said that this is a spatial magic that can only be mastered by those with eleven rings or higher, and it requires precise spatial manipulation ability, stable spiritual control ability, and a lot of long-term, repeated practice.
When Professor Garcia demonstrated this technique to Shad, it fully satisfied the imagination of this uninformed outsider about the extraordinary world. At that time, Shad didn't even know Iluna and Luvia, and the spatial stability of the material world was much stronger than it is now.
To replicate Professor Garcia's move from back then would likely require a level of 12 or higher and a ritual specifically designed to stabilize space. Dorothy and Lacey, like Shad, are currently at the 10th level.
"Yes, we obtained learning materials from Sylvia when we were in the snow mountain, and we've practiced them repeatedly over the past month. It's only thanks to the power of the chosen ones in space and our two unique sensory talents that we've been able to barely achieve the effect you see now."
However, the only connections we can currently make are between Lacey's bedroom and here, and between Lacey's bedroom and my apartment. We'll need time to make progress.
Dorothy wrapped her right arm around Shad's neck and whispered in his ear:
"Your home refuses any external spatial connection, so it took me a lot of effort to make this attempt possible. Lacia's bedroom and my apartment were our previous practice locations. We made a lot of mistakes at first, and what are you standing there for, making a mess of my apartment?"
Her left hand drew circles on Shad's skin:
"Didn't you see Lacia inviting you?"
"Wait a minute, is it really alright for Lacia to use such a large-scale spatial power in the Yodel Palace?"
"This is also thanks to the power of the chosen one and the ritual assistance provided by Galina, and it must be done late at night."
Dorothy continued to answer, then smiled as Shad picked her up, and Lacey saw Shad cross the spatial boundary and walk towards her.
The writer and the princess both hummed softly. The former happily wrapped her arms around Shad's neck, while the latter smiled at Shad, changing from a side-lying position to sitting facing him. She then placed her hands on the front of her robe and spread them to her sides.
The colored blocks were refilled on the side of Shad's bedroom near the door, and then the bedroom returned to normal, the light from the red candle disappearing. Silence returned to the room, except for the cat, who had just opened one eye, which closed again, shifted its body slightly, and settled into a more comfortable position to sleep peacefully once more.
She knew that Shad sometimes didn't sleep well at night, but Mia thought it didn't matter, since Shad would always come back for breakfast the next morning no matter what.