After going into the sea, I met the witch.

That's enough to ascend to legend!

Chapter 99 Bathing with Freyne?!

Spinning and twisting, Ryan felt like a small fish caught in a whirlpool in the sea, unable to move and forced to drift with the current.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he felt his body relax, and the darkness before his eyes receded like the tide.

His first thought was to look at the girl he was holding tightly in his arms.

Ryan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she hadn't been thrown off during the "spin."

Looking around, Ryan found himself in a strange space.

The stone pillars on the left and right sides are each several meters thick and nearly a hundred meters high, and are covered with intricate and magnificent reliefs.

Following the direction of the stone pillar, what comes into view is a magnificent and imposing temple.

It resembles a fortress inhabited by giants, its size and dimensions reaching an astonishing height of over a hundred meters.

At the top of the temple, instead of a traditional roof, was a crouching stone wolf, its head bowed, its gaze seemingly spanning a vast expanse of time, settling on Ryan and Freyne in his arms.

"Well……"

Just as Ryan was observing his surroundings, a soft murmur rang out.

Upon hearing the voice, Ryan lowered his head in surprise and met the witch's slowly opening pale blue eyes.

"Lady Freyne, you've finally woken up."

"Did I...sleep for a long time?" The girl, who had just woken up, still had a hazy look in her eyes, like the thin mist after the rain.

But soon, the mist dissipated, and the girl's eyes regained their clarity.

Before she could process the flood of information that had just appeared in her mind, Freya felt a strange warmth coming from her thighs and armpits.

"It hasn't been that long, has it?"

Ryan replied, and then realized that their posture was inappropriate, so he quickly and carefully put the girl on the ground.

Miss Witch's body was very light. With Ryan's strength, holding her was like holding a soft ball of cotton, and he could not feel any weight at all.

Even though the dress was in the way, Ryan could still clearly feel the sensation of fingers sinking into it.

After landing, Freya didn't speak. Instead, she reached out and straightened her slightly disheveled, fluffy witch's hat. The wide brim of the hat obscured the girl's fair, jade-like face, making it impossible to see her expression. "Mr. Ryan, where are we?"

“The Blood Moon Temple, an ancient ruin passed down from the Age of Gods.” Ryan replied, “Lady Freyne, are you alright?”

"I'm fine." Frey rubbed her temples, feeling a bit tired from the influx of knowledge. "The Blood Witch pulled me into a special place earlier and told me some things. By the way, Mr. Ryan, she said she would put you through a 'test.' Are you alright?"

Although Ryan showed no signs of injury, Freya couldn't help but feel worried.

"I only fought a few monsters, as well as the Black Knight and the Twelfth Black Knight. It took some of my physical and spiritual energy to finish." Ryan waved his hand dismissively.

"A Black Knight?" Freyne blinked, her pale blue eyes first showing surprise, then deep worry. She couldn't help but reach out and grasp Ryan's wrist, sending her deep blue magic to check his body. Only after confirming that he was indeed unharmed did she finally relax.

"As long as it's okay, it'll be okay."

"The strength of the twelfth Black Knight is absolutely top-tier among second-tier elites; even ordinary second-tier witches would find it difficult to be his match..."

Freyne said softly.

“I’ve already taken care of the twelfth Black Knight,” Ryan interjected. Meeting the girl’s astonished gaze, he smiled and said, “I also have to thank you for the [First-Tier Spiritual Enhancement Crystal] you gave me. After consuming it, my spirituality has improved significantly.”

"..."

Freyne fell silent for a moment.

She really wanted to say that the spiritual limit increased by ten [Tier 1 Spiritual Enhancement Crystals] was only 33% of that of a Tier 1 Limit Professional. There was no way that a Tier 1 Formal Professional could defeat a Tier 2 Elite Professional, especially a Tier 2 Limit Black Knight.

It's only been a short time since Mr. Ryan took office...

Her thoughts raced, but in the end, Freya remained the same as before, asking nothing and simply saying softly, "...Anyway, it's good that you're alright."

What happened outside while I was unconscious?

Ryan organized his thoughts and told Freya the story of how he was asked by the Blood Witch to "perform" on stage, and the tale of "the hero and the first witch."

"The Hero and the First Witch..."

Freyne's eyes were momentarily dazed. Only a witch could truly understand the circumstances of the "First Witch" back then.

After regaining her senses, Freya recounted the key points of her conversation with the Blood Witch Serena to Ryan.

Of course, she concealed a crucial point—the witch's curse and corruption.

"The Blood Witch, is she going to die?!"

Ryan's face showed surprise. Was the Blood Witch's overwhelming and terrifying strength only in her weakened state before death? It was hard to imagine how strong she would be in her prime.

Is this the existence of the fourth-order limit...?

After the initial shock, Ryan's face lit up with realization. He understood the reasons behind the Blood Witch's actions and why she remained fearless in the face of the "circus ringmaster's" warning—when a person is about to die, how can they fear a mere threat?

Shaking his head, Ryan said in a deep voice, "Lady Freyne, let's go take a look at the stone hall ahead first."

"Judging from the current situation, the Blood Witch probably didn't intend to harm us by throwing us into the 'Blood Moon Temple.'" He added with a self-deprecating remark.

"After all, with her strength, if she really wanted to harm us, she wouldn't have gone to such great lengths."

Freyne nodded.

The two then walked side by side toward the stone hall not far away.

As he walked, Ryan continued to observe the place.

This is a rather vast space. Judging from the size of the stone temple we saw at the bottom of Mingjin Volcano, it's unlikely that it could contain such an area. Does this mean that this is deeper underground? Or is the stone temple under the volcano just a medium, and this is an independent spiritual space?

Ryan guessed that.

Soon, the two arrived at the gate of the stone hall.

The closer they got, the more they could feel the grandeur of the stone palace. Standing before the stone gate, which was dozens of meters high and slightly ajar, Ryan and Freyne felt like ants who had strayed into the land of giants.

Ryan took the lead and stood in front of the stone gate crevice, preparing to scout ahead first.

Compared to Freyne, he has a much thicker "health bar" due to his [Gluttony] skill.

Although he hadn't seen Freyne make a move after advancing to the second tier, he could tell from her performance at the first tier that the witch was clearly a "mage" with "high attack and low defense".

Watching Ryan walk away ahead, Freya paused slightly, but did not say anything to stop him.

After learning that Ryan had defeated the twelfth Black Knight, she knew that Ryan was now a powerful swordsman capable of standing alone.

Between the two, having Ryan scout ahead is indeed the most suitable choice.

Inside the Blood Moon Temple, a huge light stone embedded in the wall of the dome shines brightly, making the entire temple as bright as day.

Ryan stepped inside.

He walked very carefully, after all, no one knew whether there were traps inside the Blood Moon Temple.

But he did not encounter any traps until he reached the center of the temple, in front of a pool of blood that shimmered like a ruby.

Clearly, this relic, with its extremely demanding opening conditions, had no intention of setting up any traps to "harm" those who entered.

Freyne followed in Ryan's footsteps, looking at the pool of blood. She murmured, "Is this 'holy blood'? It feels almost no different from ordinary water except for its color, and I can't sense any spirituality from it."

Ryan didn't reply immediately, but instead looked at the introduction that popped up in gray font in front of him.

【Holy Blood: A divine substance, a pure essence extracted from the origin of the [King of Blood]. After a thousand years, its effects have diminished considerably. Immersing the body in it, undergoing a 'Holy Blood Baptism,' will slowly increase one's additional spiritual potential (this increase can transcend rank restrictions and does not affect the difficulty of increasing existing spiritual potential). The specific increase depends on the body's tolerance and rank. Due to the extremely long storage time, Holy Blood can only be effective on second-tier professionals at most.】

Please note that divine items can only be used once per person; even divine items belonging to other deities cannot have a similar effect again.

"Holy Blood... [King of Blood]... Is this the name of a god from the divine era a thousand years ago?"

Ryan was shaken.

Not only because the Holy Blood came from the remains of a god, but more importantly, the effect of this thing is so similar to the [Tier 1 Spiritual Enhancement Crystal] that Freyne gave him!

Could it be that the raw material for the [First-Tier Spiritual Enhancement Crystal] is...

It's chilling to think about.

Was the Augustan royal family's past wealth and influence truly so terrifying?

Ryan couldn't help but feel his mouth go dry.

All I can say is that Freya's thighs are getting thicker and whiter, and she's enjoying her "soft rice" (gigolo) life more and more...

Shaking his head, Ryan stopped thinking about it and looked at the witch beside him: "This should be the Holy Blood."

Freyne crouched down beside the pool of blood, observing it closely. After a dozen seconds, she frowned slightly: "So much of it, it's probably not meant to be drunk directly. Could it be that it's meant to be soaked in?"

"We can give it a try." Although he knew how to use [Holy Blood] through the panel, Ryan didn't want to say it directly.

“Then I’ll go down and give it a try.” Freyne nodded slightly and looked at Ryan: “This time, you’re not allowed to take it from me.”

This refers to Ryan's earlier action of going ahead to scout the way.

"Row."

Knowing that the Holy Blood was harmless, Ryan nodded indifferently.

Seeing this, Freyne smiled with satisfaction. Then, she turned around, looked at the pool of blood in front of her, and began to take off her shoes. However, she had only taken off half of her shoes when she suddenly realized a very important problem.

Soaking myself in the pool of blood is practically the same as taking a bath in front of Mr. Ryan!

Beneath the fluffy witch's hat, her earlobes, hidden in the shadows, flushed a faint red. Freyne pursed her lips tightly—the blood pool water was so thick that one couldn't see anything once inside. In that case, it couldn't really be considered "taking a bath," could it?

Reassuring herself in this way made Freya relax a lot, and she continued taking off her shoes.

Her smooth, glistening little feet were exposed to the air, each toe as lustrous as a pearl. With a light touch, Frey touched the surface of the Holy Blood Pool with her toes, and ripples spread outwards.

At the same time, as her toes touched the pool of holy blood, Freyne immediately felt a trace of incomparably pure spirituality flow into her body. Although it was only a very small amount, it still made her feel the rise of her spirituality.

"It really is used for soaking!"

Freyne's face lit up with joy.

But soon, she noticed the strangeness of the Holy Blood Pool.

As she touched it, it seemed to activate some kind of "program," and a large number of bubbles began to appear on the surface of the Holy Blood Pool, and an incredibly rich spiritual energy also rose continuously from the blood pool.

"Is the effect of the Holy Blood fading?"

Freyne was stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered. Without thinking too much, she jumped into the pool of holy blood, wanting to absorb as much as possible before the effects of the holy blood wore off.