After nurous years of waiting, Aurelia and her family finally obtained an answer.
Her genetic aptitude was not completely unqualified.
Yet it did not asure up to a good standard either.
Instead, Aurelia fell into an awkward category.
Her genetic aptitude of E basically ant that she was barely a potentate.
If she tried to beco a ch pilot with her awful genetic aptitude, she would face an uphill battle from the very beginning.
Movents that other ch cadets could learn in a matter of days would take weeks for her to achieve the sa results.
As for trying to operate more advanced ch systems or performing faster maneuvers, a terrible potentate like her could forget about mastering such operations.
There was no way for a ch pilot to ever fully overco such a poor genetic aptitude. Aurelia had already grown to the point where her initial brain developnt had reached a stable condition as far as this property was concerned.
Even if Aurelia continued to grow in various ways in the next decade, her genetic aptitude was pretty much set in stone.
Aside from the personal intervention of the Chosen Human, there was no known thod of improving one’s genetic aptitude after it had been asured at the age of 10.
Back during the Age of chs, such a genetic aptitude was enough to shut the doors of almost every ch academy.
Unless her parents or grandparents possessed a lot of wealth or a large amount of pull, it was impractical to find any educational institution that would bother to seriously try to train a potentate as ’untalented’ as Aurelia in the art of ch piloting.
Yet all of that was in the past.
Ves had single-handedly rewritten the rules when he invited his Carmine chs.
The most basic version of the Blood Pact that many humans gradually beca familiar with ddi not rely on a neural interface to form a traditional man-machine connection.
The Blood Pact instead exchanged a lot of data through mysterious ans by relying on the ritual exchange of blood.
While nobody fully understood the chanics behind this confusing system, the results could not be argued.
A Blood Pact enabled a Carmine ch pilot to exchange data with a Carmine ch through the spirit, thereby skipping any physical and related ntal processes that could pose a hindrance.
Carmine ch pilots never had to be afraid of excessively overloading the brain to the point of frying its nerve cells!
The use of a neural interface beca optional. If there was no effective way for them to use it to control their machines, then they might as well skip it entirely, thereby also getting rid of all of its associated problems.
This was a crucial advantage and one that completely bypassed the need to possess the right genetic aptitude!
A Carmine System therefore served as an excellent complent to potentates with very poor genetic aptitudes.
Unlike norms who did not possess a useful genetic aptitude, children such as Aurelia could still make use of a neural interface, if only barely.
If Aurelia combined the neural interface with a working Carmine System, then she could combine the advantages of both and effectively gain a little more control over her machine than most other Carmine ch pilots!
Of course, potentates with much better genetic aptitudes beca even more effective if they chose to form a Blood Pact, but that would limit them to using a single Carmine ch for the rest of their piloting careers.
Most potentates with decent to good genetic aptitudes could not bring themselves to make such a heavy commitnt.
There were no known ans of bypassing the restriction of a Blood Pact. This was a promise made at the level of a soul. The only way to overco it was to tinker with a Carmine ch pilot’s spirituality, and that was extrely dangerous!
Aside from exceptions such as Venerable Rosa Orfan and first-class ch pilots sought to earn the qualifications to pilot more advanced first-class multipurpose chs, pretty much every qualified potentate ignored the existence of the Carmine System.
That was fine. Ves did not specifically develop the Carmine System with this group in mind.
Instead, his Carmine chs catered much more to people who possessed low to non-existent ability to pilot chs in the first place.
Perhaps it was fate that Aurelia’s genetic aptitude ended up in a barely qualified range.
This would have beco a source of great sha and frustration if she still lived in the Age of chs.
Instead, she had a promising future as a Carmine ch pilot if she chose to spend at least part of her ti at a ch academy.
The question was whether she intended to make use of her ager genetic aptitude and choose to pilot a Carmine ch.
Ves and Gloriana exchanged glances.
If their daughter truly wanted to beco a part-ti or full-ti ch pilot, then they would put their full effort into designing a unique one-of-a-kind Carmine ch for their girl!
Standard chs simply did not cut it for a young lady of her status.
The Miracle Couple would gladly spend the effort they put into designing a high-ranking ch into giving their girl a ch that she might not even spend much ti with. No matter whether she invested her ti and passion into becoming a serious ch pilot, she would at least have a strong and dependable living machine by her side.
Enough ti had passed for the public to take in this result. Their expressions revealed a mixture of regret and tentative happiness.
They felt regret that Aurelia ’almost’ gained a good enough genetic aptitude that she did not have to make use of a Carmine System.
They felt happy because children like her still had a chance to pilot a good ch due to that very sa invention.
Everyone eventually began to clap.
Any child with rich parents could afford to pilot a Carmine ch, but Aurelia just so happened to be the Father of Carmine chs!
It would be ridiculous if she still did not pilot a ch later in her life. She had the best possible opportunity to do so due to her parents!
Ves took the word again.
"Before you can begin to enjoy your birthday cakes and other als, I would like to hold your attention for a little longer. You see, this crystal pyramid is special. We have already inford a number of you about this, but this structure that you are sitting or standing on is actually a giant formation anchor."
Many people looked clueless. They had little exposure to the Red Collective’s less straightforward heritages.
Much of the public these days had grown quite familiar with the Repository’s collection of safe, modern and accessible qi cultivation thods.
This was not the cas with more esoteric specializations such as qi formations.
Formation masters may as well be wizards due to how difficult it was for people to get started with their unique approach towards qi cultivation and E energy manipulation.
"The crystal pyramid is not just a formation anchor." Ves continued. "It is the center of a large qi formation that is spread across the entire Microplanet."
A giant projection appeared in the air that showed the Microplanet in all of its glory.
Dozens of points lit up in red beneath the ground or under the ocean.
"Each of these dots represent the locations of formation anchors that the Red Collective has buried underneath the surface of the Microplanet. These anchors have effectively turned the entire globe into a net that can absorb a large amount of E energy radiation."
That stirred a lot of concerns.
Was this safe?
Had the collies tested their own qi formation in advance?
Why would the chers permit the RC to turn the entire Microplanet into a qi formation?
"I understand if you have any concerns." Ves said. "If you want to leave for whatever reason, you may do so in various ways. However, I can assure you that the relevant experts of the Larkinson Clan, the Red Association and the Red Collective have thoroughly examined every aspect of the qi formation and declared it safe to use. The purpose of the qi formation is not anything scary either. Its function is quite simple, which also ans that there is almost no chance that it could go wrong. If you have decided to stay, then I wish to thank you for your trust. Each of you shall not only bear witness to a unique event, but also contribute to it in a small way."
Once he was done with warning his audience, he turned and looked at a woman who was slowly floating to the top of the crystal pyramid.
Her traditional red robe and her iconic masterwork Astral Mirror that had been baptized with the blood of the Spacelock made a strong impression to those with good eyesight.
This was one of the Red Collective’s most accomplished formation masters.
Once the Farseer reached her position, she activated a function of the Astral Mirror and began to manipulate it with intense focus.
The air began to stir.
The crystal underneath the guests started to glow.
Strange crystalline sounds ca from within as hidden chanisms ca to life.
Soon enough, a growing golden light shone from the pyramid!
At the sa ti, all of the other formation anchors beca active as well. Each of them linked up with each other, forming a mysterious utility spell array that possessed unknown functions.
The air stirred more as the active spell array began to absorb a large amount of E energy radiation from the surrounding environnt.
It was as if the entire Microplanet had turned into a vacuum that continually sucked in E energy radiation without any sign of slowing down!
All of that energy started to channel through the formation anchors and spell array, fueling multiple different effects that remained obtuse to the average bystander.
However, there was one effect in particular that all of the guests were able to feel.
They started to feel lighter, less exhausted and less burdened by depressing considerations.
It was as if the light emanating from the crystal pyramid gradually cleansed their bodies, minds and spirits of impurities.
At the sa ti, these people beca so entranced by the spectacle that their thoughts and emotions beca increasingly more attuned by the active ritual.
It was as if they had beco willing participants to a ceremony that they did not understand.
Whatever the case, everyone was experiencing the benefits of the purifying light of the heavens.
The top of the pyramid happened to shine the brightest. It beca harder and harder to observe the Farseer as she continued to manipulate the active spell array into converging much of its energies towards a single coordinate.
As the light shone so much that azure energy shields had to co to life in order to avoid blinding any of the guests with unaugnted eyes, Ves finally made his move.
He retrieved the birthday gift that he had prepared from his System Space and tossed it towards the top of the pyramid.
The reinvented Flower Parasol in its fresh and magnificent masterwork artifact form automatically opened up while spinning around its axis.
It stopped right on top of the tip of the pyramid!
Its petal-ardoned underside began to absorb a huge amount of light and E energy channeled from below.
The artifact absorbed so much energy that it rapidly began to grow in power and other ways.
It — or rather she — was definitely not weak after Ves had completed his comprehensive overhaul of the high-level artifact, but the enormous spell array empowered it in a way that was unprecedented!
Although much of the energy actually went to waste, what little remained useful still contributed to a lot of growth, allowing the artifact to perform its functions considerably more effectively than normal!
As the power channeled by the ritual reached its apex, the Farseer abruptly activated a command that caused the concentrated light to burst before fading away.
The crystal pyramid no longer released any light.
The air returned to calm.
The formation anchors no longer remained in an activate state.
As the environnt returned to normal, more and more people saw that the beautiful umbrella had disappeared at one point.
In its place was a lovely girl wearing a robe that just happened to resemble the canopy of that artifact!
User Comments
0 comments from readers