Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 1035

Under the warm spring sun, as the light melody drew to a close, Jenkins began to softly sing the lyrics:

"Doe, a deer, a female deer, Ray, a drop of golden sun, Me, a name I call myself, Far, a long, long way to run, Sew, a needle pulling thread, La, a note to follow Sew, Tea, a drink with jam and bread, That will bring us back to Do (oh-oh-oh)..." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ noveⅼfire.net

Beneath the sun, Jenkins frowned in concentration, struggling to control his voice. The body he inhabited was blessed with a fine singing voice, but his soul, unfortunately, lacked the finesse to wield it. As he strove to capture the melody's original emotion from memory, the young ladies nearby who happened to look over were left staring, utterly captivated. Even the cat, tentatively pawing at some food it found unappealing, failed to notice it had nudged a slice of bacon off the picnic blanket and onto the grass.

The breeze was gentle, the sunlight perfect. To Jenkins, he was simply concentrating with all his might, trying not to sing off-key and make a fool of himself. But to Hathaway, it was as if Jenkins had become one with the world. His voice, with its youthful timbre, seemed to eclipse every other sound, becoming the only thing she could hear.

The grass danced on the breeze, and the breeze seemed to rejoice with his song. In a daze, Hathaway thought she saw not a mortal man in Jenkins's place, but a true god, one in perfect harmony with the world. This deity sat cross-legged beside her, and his spellbinding voice felt as if it would consume her, body and soul.

She didn't know how long the illusion lasted, but when she finally came to her senses, Jenkins had finished. Fortunately, this world also used an alphabetic language, so while the translation was tricky, Jenkins felt he had managed to capture at least some of the song's original spirit.

He expected Hathaway and Briny to offer him the same polite praise and encouragement they had before, but after waiting for a moment, he found them just staring at him. He quickly ran through a mental checklist of his morning preparations, fairly certain there wasn't anything odd on his face.

With a flicker of intent, he focused his gaze on the empty space before him. Instantly, a constellation of countless glowing motes, each representing one of his abilities, materialized in his vision.

Yet now, the mote for [The Player] was shimmering with a faint light. Simultaneously, as his song concluded, a subtle stream of spirit flowed into his body. This was the unique trait of [The Player]—it allowed him to gain power whenever he engaged in musical activities.

Jenkins fell into contemplation. As for Hathaway, who remained silent, her gaze seemed to pierce the barriers of time and space, taking her back to the night she and Jenkins had first challenged each other with musical questions. Perhaps it was because of the divine blessing she'd received in the Evergreen Forest last month, but the red-haired young woman could feel with absolute certainty that the man before her was [The Player].

She recalled the colossal, golden figure that had replaced Jenkins in her vision, her mind reeling in confusion. She instinctively dismissed it as a trick of the light, an illusion. Unconsciously, her hand reached out toward Jenkins's, but thankfully, Briny was still lost in the afterglow of the song's supernatural power and took no notice.

Though Jenkins had stopped singing, the music itself hadn't ended. An echo of the song lingered over the meadow, a phantom melody only Jenkins, the cat, and Hathaway could hear. The graceful tune danced with the whisper of the wind across the plains. In the distance, snow-capped mountains were wreathed in mist; overhead, the sun shone perfectly; a soft breeze caressed their skin, carrying the sweet fragrance of the grasslands.

After a long moment, the others finally surfaced from their reverie, realizing what they had just heard. Spontaneously, a scattered round of applause began.

Of course, a good deal of the applause was simply meant to flatter Jenkins. Few among them could truly appreciate the music, and the only one who had likely gained anything from it was the red-haired young woman at his side.

She stared dazedly at Jenkins's face, her gaze so intense that he started to blush. He lowered his head and began peeling a banana for Chocolate, and only then did she snap back to reality. Hathaway was suddenly struck with an overwhelming urge to throw her arms around him, but with Briny right there, she knew she couldn't.

The young woman pulled her left hand back from where it rested on Jenkins's. Instead, she began to gently stroke the blades of grass around the blanket, plucking one and letting it float away into the distance on the breeze.

"That was really wonderful, Jenkins. Did you write it?"

The blonde young woman asked with a smile, squinting slightly against the bright glare of the sun. The light caught her hair, making the golden strands shimmer.

"No, I heard it somewhere else."

Jenkins was telling the truth, but unfortunately, no one believed him. He carefully pinched off a small piece of the peeled banana and offered it to the cat. Chocolate stretched its head forward, twitched its little nose as it sniffed the offering, and then opened its mouth to gobble the morsel from his palm. It looked up at Jenkins, its small head cocked to one side, its amber eyes full of curiosity.

He smiled, feeling that this trip had been absolutely perfect. As he looked up, however, he noticed a single, slender blade of grass dancing in the air behind Hathaway, fluttering like a butterfly around a flower. It certainly wasn't a natural phenomenon, which meant it could only be Hathaway's power at work.

He cleared his throat, signaling to Hathaway that she shouldn't be using her supernatural abilities with so many people around. The red-haired young woman froze, only then realizing that she was losing control of her power.

An Enchanter's advancement was typically a very slow process, leaving ample time to master and assimilate any newly acquired power before seeking the next breakthrough. Hathaway, however, had experienced an unexpected advancement the last time she heard Jenkins sing. Listening to it again now had yielded yet another breakthrough. While it wasn't enough to raise her level again, the sudden, inexplicable insight she'd gained was incredibly valuable.

Having gained so much power so quickly, she hadn't yet grown accustomed to controlling it. The blade of grass dancing beside her was a clear sign of the spirit inside her leaking out, untamed.

Prompted by Jenkins's signal, she did her best to rein in the spirit seething within her like boiling water. At the same time, she glanced at him with a trace of envy. She had never heard of an Enchanter who could advance so rapidly, let alone one who could gain complete mastery of their newfound abilities instantly after a breakthrough.

Chocolate had been fascinated by the dancing blade of grass, but once it fell to the ground, the cat went back to pawing at Jenkins. Jenkins gave its chin a good scratch, and the cat immediately narrowed its eyes and let out a soft meow.

"Heard it somewhere else? Oh, Jenkins, how have I never heard such a beautiful tune before?"

Briny was still curious about the origin of "Do-Re-Mi."

"Alright, alright, it's actually Hathaway's work."

The man lied through his teeth, winking at the red-haired young woman.