Chapter 2207 Forever a Boy
The spring water enters the throat, cool and clear.
Joan smacked his lips, but didn't taste any special taste. With doubts, he turned on "Inner Vision" to check his body changes after drinking "Spring Water of Youth".
...
Occupation Level: Mage 12/Mythic Archmage 6
Physical condition: basic health (disabled right eye; infection with worm disease; eternal youth)
Attributes (belt +6 enhancement, blood mead +2 alchemy): strength 20 (Gudron's blessing +1), agility 22 (Gudron's blessing +1), constitution 22 (Gudron's blessing +1), Intelligence 43 (Tears of God +14, Fountain of Wisdom +5), Wisdom 22, Charisma 29 (Fountain of Youth +5)
Current spell slot (casting level 23, mythical mana +6, magic rosary +5): 0-∞; 1-8 (intelligence attribute bonus +4); 2-level -8 (intelligence attribute bonus +4), 3rd level -8 (intelligence attribute bonus +4), 4th ring -7 (intelligence attribute bonus +4); 5th ring -6 (intelligence attribute +3); 6th ring -5 (intelligence attribute +3);
Current Psionic Pool: 2/2
Mythic Path Abilities: Mythic Power 31/day (Word of the Sage +16), Wild Arcane, Mythic Spellcasting, Greater Power Replacement, Mythic Mana (manifestation) +6, Mythic Link; Mythic Disguise, Mythic Displacement ;Sage's Proof (myth power +16), arcane transformation; advanced myth countermeasure, myth restart;
Supernatural Abilities: Seal of the Eye (intermediate); Sid's mana x 8; shapeshifting (human, beeman, giant bee), vermin armor, vermin curse, vermin enlightenment; blood enchantment (+trigger, + peace of mind); advanced arachnoid form (large mutant spider, arachnid); extraordinary elegance;
...
There are two main changes.
One is that the charm attribute is increased by 5 points, just like the intelligence attribute was increased by 5 points after drinking the "Wisdom Spring Water".
The second is reflected in the column of health status, which has obtained a physiological characteristic called "Youth Forever".
The "Fountain of Youth" is worthy of its name. As long as any creature drinks a sip of spring water, it can instantly rejuvenate and remain youthful forever.
Joan himself is not old, so the effect of "rejuvenation" is not reflected in him, but his physiology is fixed at the most energetic age in his life, that is, adolescence.
Joan is 17 years old this year, just in the green years of adulthood.
Taking "Spring Water of Youth" at this stage will neither make him younger nor more mature. From now on, his biological age will always stay at 17 years old.
Realizing this, Qiao An had mixed feelings.
"Eternal youth" does not mean immortality. Joan's lifespan has not increased significantly compared to before drinking the spring water, but the passage of time cannot leave any traces on him.
Imagine, forty years later, when all my friends of the same age have entered old age, with pale beard and hair, and wrinkled faces, but I still maintain a youthful appearance, how will I get along with friends?
A person who is always youthful, lives in the city, among the crowd, day after day, year after year, the neighbors, classmates and colleagues around him are all gone and old, only this person still looks the same , looks like a young man forever, how should people treat him and evaluate him?
Will they regard him as a monster, consciously or unconsciously alienate him, reject him, or even suspect that he is a vampire, who can keep youth forever by sucking blood or some kind of evil magic that harms others?
Will anyone try to unravel the secret of his eternal youth, especially those old kings, powerful and rich.
The more Joan thought about it, the heavier her heart became.
For the general public, birth, old age, sickness and death are irresistible laws of nature. If someone obviously violates this law, it will definitely attract the attention of others.
Regardless of whether this kind of attention is motivated by good intentions or malicious intent, the person concerned will feel on pins and needles. In the end, he can only escape from the familiar environment, change his name and surname, change his identity, and start a new life in a strange place.
After a period of time, when the people around him gradually realized that he was strange, they had to flee to other places again and change their identities, and this cycle was endless.
Until one day, I was tired of wandering and didn't want to live under people's strange eyes, so maybe I could only choose to escape from society and live in seclusion.
In this way, wouldn't he really become a solitary "monster"?
The biggest knot in Joan's life was the request from his grandfather before he died.
No matter how hard and painful it is for you - never give up on human emotions, don't indulge yourself and become a solitary monster!
After so many years, Qiao An has never violated her grandfather's instructions.
As a person who is withdrawn by nature and afraid of socializing, Joan has made countless efforts to integrate into the crowd and society.
These efforts have now become invisible and huge sunk costs, which weigh heavily on him, making him rather die than admit defeat, and never willing to admit that no matter how hard he tries, he cannot truly integrate into human society.
Drinking the "spring of youth", the physiological age will always stay at the peak stage of life, which may be a dream for others, but Qiao An is full of sorrow and joy, as if he is departing from his lifelong pursuit, and the more he tries to squeeze into the crowd , but farther away from the crowd.
Conversely, if he is given another chance to choose again, after careful consideration, will he make a different decision and give up drinking the "spring of youth"?
Joan didn't dare to think deeply about this question.
No one can completely get rid of the weakness of human nature, as long as he is still a human being.
Joan is no exception.
He was afraid that even after careful consideration, he would still be reluctant to miss the precious opportunity of eternal youth. Knowing that there would be a lot of trouble in the future, he would still drink that cup of "spring water of youth" in the end.
What makes a human being is a biological as well as a sociological definition, and sadly these two levels occasionally conflict.
As a biological person, refusing to drink the "fountain of youth" is tantamount to refusing health and beauty, which is against human nature.
As a person in the sociological sense, "perpetual youth" will inevitably lead to becoming an outlier in the crowd. It is also against human nature to ask the public not to look at themselves in the same way.
When the two levels of "human nature" conflict, Qiao An vaguely feels that this is not only a crisis unique to himself, but also a spiritual crisis common to all mankind. Sooner or later, there will be a day when everyone will feel the same. .
From the perspective of the self, everyone has his own unique side, and he is a heterogeneous opposite to "others", who are the hell of himself.
Joan hopes that people in the future can find a universally applicable way of salvation so that everyone's soul can find peace.