Clearly, Ryan was not familiar with the flow of this ritual at all, so Betty quickly explained what he needed to do.
After Betty's explanation, Ryan understood that the offering had to be obtained personally and could not involve any evil actions. Each person was allowed to place only one offering on the offering table, so the choice had to be made carefully. More importantly, the value of the offering itself was not the key factor—it was the process of obtaining it that mattered most. The natural will would read the information from the offering and respond accordingly.
The ritual sounded simple, which surprised Ryan. He had expected a more complex process, given the importance of the ceremony to the centaurs. Noticing his confusion, Aunt Betty explained that centaurs respected nature and opposed unnecessary formalities. What seemed like a simple ceremony to Ryan was already considered elaborate by centaur standards.
Ryan reflected on the differences in values between species. True communication required mutual understanding, much like his own journey of earning the centaurs' trust step by step, ultimately fighting alongside them. In contrast, the Ministry of Magic's bureaucratic approach of simply establishing a centaur liaison office was a poor example of fostering communication.
Having cleared his doubts, Ryan turned his thoughts to selecting an offering. After considering for a few minutes, he opened a space portal and browsed through the inventory of the Tim Hortons grocery store. After some searching, he finally found what he was looking for—an animal gallbladder the size of a schoolbag.
It was the gallbladder of a basilisk. Ryan was concerned that using items from other worlds might not be recognized by this world's natural consciousness. After careful thought, he decided on the best trophy he had obtained here—the basilisk's gallbladder.
As soon as Ryan took it out, Aunt Betty instinctively recoiled, her voice uncertain. "Is that… a snake gall?"
"Yes," Ryan confirmed. "It's the gallbladder of a thousand-year-old basilisk. I had to give my all to defeat it." His voice carried a hint of pride.
Aunt Betty's eyes widened. "The centaurs haven't seen an offering of this significance in centuries. You are even stronger than I imagined. Well then, since you have your tribute, let's begin the ceremony."
Following the ritual procedure, Ryan respectfully handed the basilisk gallbladder to Aunt Betty. She took it, placed it on the offering table through the ceremonial arch, and began chanting.
As she recited the first verse of the incantation, Ryan stepped under the arch, lowered his head, clenched his hands into fists against his forehead, and focused on connecting with the natural consciousness in the Emerald Dream, as the ritual required.
When Aunt Betty reached the most important passage, the Emerald Dream activated. The basilisk gallbladder on the altar began to transform. Unlike the previous offerings that had dissolved into small green lights, the basilisk gall emitted a strong green glow, illuminating the area like a fluorescent lamp. The glow intensified as the gallbladder shrank, eventually vanishing completely.
Simultaneously, the green light from the arch enveloped Ryan. A warm energy flowed gently into his body, and knowledge began to flood his mind.
This was the advanced version of the natural baptism that Aunt Betty had mentioned—an experience granted only to a few fortunate individuals. Understanding its rarity, Ryan focused intently, as this ceremony had the potential to bestow valuable abilities upon him.
Time seemed to stretch indefinitely as he absorbed the experience. Finally, the green glow faded, signaling the end of the coming-of-age ritual. The centaurs erupted into joyful celebration, dancing in the moonlight to the rhythm of beating drums.
Ryan stepped down from the altar and retreated to a quiet corner to assess the changes in his body.
To his delight, he had gained significant benefits from the ceremony.
Previously, his magic had been concentrated in the sea of consciousness within his mind, while his spiritual energy was stored in his lower abdomen's dantian. The two had always remained separate, which made him uneasy—conflicting energies could lead to internal instability. However, the natural baptism had established an energy cycle between the sea of consciousness and the dantian, allowing the two energies to transform into each other seamlessly.
This transformation worked well because both of Ryan's powers were rooted in natural balance. Had he been cultivating death-related or destructive magic, the opposing forces could have caused his body to explode during the ritual.
In addition to forming this internal energy cycle, the natural baptism strengthened both his physical and magical abilities. However, the energy cycle's formation consumed a significant amount of power, resulting in only a modest boost to his overall capabilities—perhaps just half the improvement that other centaurs received from the same ritual.
The most profound change was that Ryan's soul had interacted directly with the natural will of the Emerald Dream. As a result, his natural affinity had increased dramatically. This was a fortunate outcome, as both his life magic and Taoist cultivation benefited from a deep connection with nature. The increased affinity allowed him to better sense the world's rhythms and align his magic with nature's flow.
However, this advantage came with drawbacks. Ryan realized that he might face great difficulty when attempting to learn magic that contradicted natural harmony. Transformation spells and dark magic would likely pose a significant challenge for him. For instance, casting Fire Spells or permanently altering his own body through magic, as Voldemort had done, would be nearly impossible. Learning the Unforgivable Curses would also become far more arduous.
As the night deepened, Ryan bid farewell to Aunt Betty and prepared to return to the castle. Betty initially offered to have Wolff escort him, but seeing how much Wolff was enjoying the festivities, Ryan declined. He reassured her that his newfound affinity with nature made him feel perfectly safe in the Forbidden Forest, a place where he had already earned recognition.
Stepping out of the centaur village and into the jungle, Ryan immediately sensed the effects of his natural affinity. He felt at peace in the darkness, his previous fear of traveling alone in the forest at night completely gone. Despite the pitch-black surroundings, he instinctively knew which direction to go and was aware of obstacles in his path before he encountered them.
Walking through the Forbidden Forest no longer felt as exhausting as before. After adjusting to his newfound abilities, Ryan even fastened his hook-and-loop bracers and began swinging through the treetops, using branches as leverage.
Before long, he reached the path leading out of the forest. As he emerged and checked his pocket watch, he was astonished to find that he had completed his journey in half the expected time.
This natural affinity was proving to be far more complex and valuable than he had initially realized. If given the chance, he would need to study it further—there was no telling what other hidden potentials it might hold.
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