Extra's Sign In System: The Hero's an Idiot!

Chapter 178: Chapter 178: Purifying the Roots (Bonus Chapter)

[A/N: This is the bonus Chapter for reaching a 100 Golden Tickets!! Enjoy!]

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Chapter 178: Purifying the Roots

The Weeping Hollow was a secluded, forgotten section of the Elven canopy.

Centuries ago, it had served as a grand meditation garden, but the World Tree’s massive roots had overgrown the crystal pathways, creating a dark, secluded cavern. It sat directly above the gates that fed the Stoneheart City.

It was the perfect place to hide.

Lyra knelt beside a fast-moving stream of crystal-clear water. She had laid out her alchemical tools on a flat, mossy stone.

She was currently occupying the body of Sylthara, but her elegant green robes were stained with dark soot, and her golden hair was a mess.

Sitting cross-legged across from her was Estella.

Estella was wearing her excessively bright, flowing white High Oracle gown. She looked completely out of place in the dark, damp hollow.

"I still cannot believe you actually sneaked out of the High Temples," Lyra muttered, carefully grinding a cluster of glowing blue moss in her mortar.

"I had to," Estella grinned, adjusting her glowing runic sleeves.

"After I threw that massive tantrum and tossed the crystal out the window, the High Priestess locked me in my isolation chamber with a lecture about ’inner peace’. I used a minor starlight illusion to make it look like I was sleeping under the covers, and I slipped out the back window."

"You are a terrible religious figure," Lyra noted dryly.

"I am an excellent distraction," Estella corrected her proudly. "Besides, I could not just sit in that gilded cage while you brewed the cure alone. What if a patrol found you? I was so worried about you, you know? Cole would have been really hurt seeing you cry. As a Senior, it is my duty to take care of you lot! Be thankful!"

"You were just bored." Lyra said.

"I was bored!" And Estella folded under no pressure.

Lyra shook her head and did not argue further. Having the Star Mage acting as her bodyguard was a massive relief.

Lyra reached into her satchel and pulled out the Holy Star Crystal they had smuggled from the temple. The gemstone pulsed with a warm, brilliant white light.

"This is the final step," Lyra explained, her voice turning completely serious.

"The toxin Lord Lionel used is bound by dark magic. I have to crush this crystal and infuse the celestial energy directly into the volatile base of the elixir. It requires precision. Dangerous precision. Something like a double edged sword. If my mana wavers for even a microsecond, the entire mixture will violently detonate."

"I will not let anything disturb you," Estella promised, standing up and gripping her flowing white robes.

Lyra closed her eyes. She placed the Holy Star Crystal into the mortar. She channeled her refined, high-tier alchemical mana into the pestle, slowly applying pinpoint, microscopic pressure to the gemstone.

CRACK.

The crystal fractured. A blinding, pure light spilled out of the mortar, illuminating the dark walls of the Weeping Hollow.

Suddenly, the ambient temperature in the cavern plummeted.

The crisp scent of the Elven canopy vanished, instantly replaced by the sickening, heavy smell of rotting meat and stagnant water.

The gray, atmospheric dampening fog that Lord Lionel had deployed over the upper canopy began to aggressively seep through the cracks in the vines.

Estella felt an immediate, violent spike of killing intent.

"Lyra," Estella whispered sharply.

"We have guests. Do not stop. Keep brewing."

"I feel it," Lyra gritted her teeth, her hands trembling slightly as she focused entirely on the volatile glowing liquid in her mortar.

"They found us. It was about time."

Estella stepped forward, placing herself directly between Lyra and the encroaching gray fog.

The shadows clinging to the damp walls of the hollow began to twist and stretch unnaturally. The Treachery-Fiends did not possess physical bodies.

They were invisible, parasitic entities made of pure, corrupted mana, drawn like starving moths to the blinding celestial energy radiating from the crushed crystal.

Estella could not see them, but her Star Magic sensed the encroaching darkness.

She dropped the fragile, holy act of the High Oracle entirely. She reached deep into her core, tapping into the raw, destructive power of the Star of Ruin.

"You are not touching her," Estella warned the empty air.

HISS!

A terrifying, disembodied shriek echoed from the gray fog. Three invisible Treachery-Fiends lunged forward simultaneously, aiming to rip the Elven girls to shreds.

Estella raised both of her hands.

The High Oracle body she possessed was a flawless vessel, brimming with incredibly pure, high-tier mana.

[Nova Shrapnel]

Estella did not fire a massive, concentrated laser. She aggressively compressed a blinding sphere of starlight between her palms and violently shattered it.

BOOM!

Thousands of microscopic, razor-sharp shards of pure starlight exploded outward like a fragmentation grenade.

The starlight shards tore through the gray fog. The moment the celestial energy struck the invisible parasites, the Treachery-Fiends shrieked in absolute agony.

The holy light violently burned away their corrupted camouflage, forcing them to briefly manifest as horrific, writhing masses of black tentacles and jagged teeth.

"I see you," Estella yelled fiercely.

She did not let up. She fired volley after volley of [Nova Shrapnel], filling the narrow, damp hollow with a blinding, lethal crossfire of exploding stars.

The parasites thrashed against the starlight, their dark forms burning to ash before they could even reach the center of the cavern.

Behind her, Lyra was sweating profusely.

The mixture in her mortar was bubbling aggressively, threatening to boil over. She gritted her teeth, pouring her absolute maximum concentration into the elixir.

She carefully scooped the crushed, glowing powder of the Holy Star Crystal and dumped it directly into the volatile liquid.

FSHHH!

The liquid instantly shifted from a toxic, murky green into a blinding, pure, glowing golden color.

"Estella! It is done!" Lyra screamed, grabbing the heavy mortar.

Estella fired one final, massive volley of starlight shrapnel, obliterating the last remaining parasites in the immediate vicinity. She spun around and rushed to the edge of the fast-moving stream.

"Pour it!" Estella ordered.

Lyra did not hesitate. She lifted the mortar and dumped the entire contents of the glowing golden elixir directly into the primary aqueduct.

The reaction was instantaneous and utterly breathtaking.

The moment the golden liquid touched the water, a massive, brilliant wave of pure silver light exploded through the stream. The light raced down the aqueduct with the speed of a rushing river.

Draven and Lyra watched in sheer awe as the purification wave hit the corrupted roots lining the banks of the stream.

The dark, weeping sap and the brittle, blackened bark were violently purged. The rot was completely burned away, leaving behind healthy, vibrant green wood.

A split second later, thousands of beautiful, pure white flowers rapidly bloomed across the newly restored roots, glowing with a soft, natural luminescence.

The water supply was saved. The Dwarf’s drought was officially over.

"We did it," Lyra collapsed onto the mossy stone, panting heavily.

Estella lowered her hands, the brilliant starlight fading from the hollow. She looked down at the blooming white flowers and smiled.

"The water is pure," Estella confirmed, brushing a stray lock of golden hair from her face.

"Now, we just have to hope the boys stop those siege weapons."

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