Chapter 942 – The Inauguration Ceremony

According to the descriptions in the inherited memories, combined with Tree Spirit Mother’s explanations in her dreams, formally inaugurating into an extraordinary profession first required meeting the corresponding prerequisites, including but not limited to specific magical aptitude, achieving the required physical attributes, and mastering relevant knowledge and skills.

After meeting these conditions, one also needed to hold an inauguration ceremony, swear a professional oath, and declare one’s chosen path to the magic network and the rules of the world, thereby obtaining the “authorization” to record and cast spells exclusive to that profession within the magic network.

The druid inauguration ceremony typically required finding an ancient tree that had developed sentience to serve as witness while swearing the professional oath.

The ranger inauguration ceremony required spending a period of time alone in the wilderness, proving one’s survival abilities, and successfully setting a simple trap or completing a precise hunt. After a successful hunt, one would swear the professional oath, then return a portion of the prey to nature as an offering, and that would suffice.

The bard inauguration ceremony required completing a full artistic performance before at least one sentient audience member. The form of performance was unrestricted, but it had to be an original work.

After the performance, one simply needed to swear the professional oath before the audience.

Completing the inauguration ceremony itself wasn’t difficult. What was difficult was achieving perfection, or even triggering the legendary “inauguration blessing.”

According to vague records in the inherited memories and oral traditions passed down by elven elders, if during the inauguration ceremony the candidate’s conviction was strong enough, the ceremony perfect enough, and the compatibility with the profession reached a near-perfect degree, it was possible to attract the attention of the world consciousness, which would bestow a “blessing” containing a trace of source power.

This kind of blessing could slightly enhance the caster’s extraordinary aptitude in the relevant profession.

However, Mo Lan didn’t insist on this. Others might not know her identity, but could the world consciousness of the Seran world possibly be unaware?

For any gift involving the world’s source power, the world consciousness would inevitably be more cautious in its distribution.

The standards for treating native beings of this world versus beings from other worlds like her would obviously differ. After all, giving source power to a being from another world was equivalent to ceding a portion of source power to another world, whereas giving it to a native being meant that portion of source power would return to this world after the being’s death.

Successfully completing the inauguration, learning more of the Seran world’s magical knowledge, and raising her magic level—that was already the greatest reward. There was no need to insist on ceremonial perfection.

As things stood, the druid inauguration ceremony was the easiest to complete.

In all of the Emerald Forest, there was probably no tree with higher sentience than the Tree of Life—more than sufficient to meet the druid ceremony’s requirements.

She got out of bed and walked to the innermost part of the tree hollow, placing her hand against the trunk and said:

“Tree Spirit Mother, please be my witness… With the breath of the forest as testimony, with the pulse of the earth as proof, I hereby swear an oath to become a guardian of the natural environment and a keeper of nature’s balance.

I shall respect the cycle of life, cherish the symbiosis of all things, listen to nature’s whispers with a humble heart, and protect this green homeland with unwavering resolve. May the forces of nature be with me!”

Her voice echoed through the tree hollow, and beneath her palm, a warm green glow flowed across the surface of the trunk.

At the same time, Mo Lan clearly sensed that within her personal magic network space, a unique sigil representing the druid profession glowed faintly, signifying that she had finally obtained the formal “authorization” to record and cast druid spells within the magic network.

Just as she was about to try recording the zero-level druid spell models she had seen in the inherited memories into her magic network space, a crisp ringing sound came from outside the window.

The grass bell woven from bellflower vines, hanging at the edge of the platform, had chimed.

This was a commonly used visiting signal in the tribe, indicating that a guest had arrived.

Mo Lan temporarily suppressed the urge to immediately record spells and went to open the door.

She saw that Grandmother Matil had just climbed up from below the tree. Upon seeing her, a gentle and concerned expression appeared on her face: “Mo Lan, how are you feeling? Is there any discomfort anywhere?” The moment she had noticed the change in the forces of nature, she knew Mo Lan had finally ended her natural resonance.

No one had ever been able to maintain natural resonance for several months—normally, exceeding a single day would turn someone into a wooden statue.

“Grandmother Clan Leader! I’m great, no discomfort at all! And I just formally became a druid with Tree Spirit Mother as my witness!”

Mo Lan happily shared her progress.

Seeing how radiant and spirited she looked, Matil swallowed back all the warnings and concerns about “natural resonance risks” and “petrification dangers” that had been on the tip of her tongue. She worried that her excessive caution would constrain this child’s innate talent and potential.

With the Tree Spirit watching over her, there wouldn’t be any problems.

“As long as you’re alright!”

Matil lovingly stroked Mo Lan’s soft, slightly curly hair, then let her gaze drift downward, settling on the vine-woven outfit Mo Lan was wearing—one that was clearly a size too short and looked rather snug:

“I knew your clothes wouldn’t fit anymore, so I made you some new ones!”

As she spoke, she produced, as if performing a magic trick, several neatly folded garments from the small vine bag she carried.

These garments were still woven from the softest and most resilient fine vines and dried moss fibers found in the forest, but the craftsmanship was even more refined than before. More elaborate patterns had been embroidered onto them using colored vine threads.

There were twining vines with newly blooming buds, silhouettes of wood sprites leaping through the forest, and clean, simple patterns symbolizing natural runes. Each piece was like a small work of art.

In addition to everyday tops and bottoms, there was also a small cloak suitable for draping over one’s shoulders on slightly cool evenings, along with several matching hair ribbons adorned with dainty lily-of-the-valley flower decorations.

“Wow!” Mo Lan’s eyes lit up instantly. She ran her fingers lovingly over the new clothes, which still carried the fresh scent of sunshine and vegetation. “They’re so beautiful! Thank you, Grandmother Clan Leader!”

“Try them on and see if they fit,” Matil urged with a smile.

Mo Lan immediately picked up a top embroidered with flower buds and deftly changed into it.

The new clothes fit perfectly—soft, breathable, and easy to move in, as if they had been custom-tailored just for her.

Wearing her new outfit, she spun in a circle, the hem of her skirt tracing a joyful arc, then rushed over to hug Matil’s legs: “It fits perfectly! It’s so comfortable to wear! Grandma makes the best clothes!”

Grandmother Matil’s care was an entirely different style from Mama Shanna’s care, but their love was one and the same.

Matil was infected by her joy, and the wrinkles on her face all smoothed out.

She knelt down, straightened Mo Lan’s collar, and used a lily-of-the-valley hair ribbon to braid her hair into a pretty plait:

“There now, put on your new clothes and go play with your friends. Let them see how spirited our newly inaugurated little druid looks. These past few months, they’ve been coming to ask me every day when you’d finish your natural resonance—they’ve been missing you like crazy!”

“Several months? Natural resonance?” Mo Lan was stunned.