Chapter 31: Listening to the Rain's Song, Treading the Rising Tide

The new trait, "True Name Perception," is not an entirely novel ability, but rather an advancement of an existing class feature.

As he listened to the voice of all things once more, Lin Bo clearly realized that the information he could perceive was deeper than ever before. The things that spoke to the mage, the words they uttered—Lin Bo had been able to understand them before, but now, he could perceive the core hidden beneath the surface, a subtle subtext, an unspoken resonance.

Every utterance carries meaning, even if it contains no literal sense. The entity that speaks must do so for a purpose. A liar speaks falsehoods, but the act of lying is intended to conceal the truth; the lie itself represents the liar's genuine anxiety. A madman speaks gibberish, but he does so to express the turbulent mental conflicts within; the gibberish represents his genuine plea for help.

The "True Name Perception" trait allows a mage’s insight to transcend language itself. Now, Lin Bo could vaguely glimpse the essence of the entities speaking the universal voice—their True Names. Every sentence flowed from the resonance of these True Names. To a True Name Mage, the essence of everything in existence is its True Name, and the universe itself is but a single, primordial True Name.

When the primordial True Name is spoken, each of its words becomes an object, and each of its sentences becomes the trajectory of that object's existence; the history of the universe is a grand, unfolding epic.

It sounds profound and mysterious, and other beings in the multiverse hold different views. For instance, Mind Flayers and many psionic practitioners believe the world is merely a false shell wrapped around the mind, and that death, space-time, and destiny can all be distorted and rewritten by their mental energy. Yet, regardless of how life views the universe, True Name Mages exist, possessing the power to command all things, just as psionicists exist, wielding the miracle of altering matter. Everyone follows their own path. The multiverse is always like this—embracing all possibilities, and thus, it remains brilliant and lush.

The insight granted to Lin Bo by "True Name Perception" is not overwhelming; it merely opens a door, allowing him to glimpse the True Name behind the voice of all things. However, the traces of these True Names are as fleeting as the tracks of a wild goose on snow, impossible to track. He focused all his attention, listening intently to the murmurs of the waves, but just as he felt he had grasped a thread, it slipped away like moonlight reflected in a well.

Lin Bo sat in meditation for half an hour, then took a deep breath and stood up. Aside from his legs being numb from sitting cross-legged, he had gained nothing. He decided to take a break; sometimes, when effort yields no results, it is because one is on the wrong path, wasting spirit and focus in vain.

"Only through speech does silence arise; only through silence does speech become."

The Watcher slowly pondered the suffix of his class trait, like someone knocking two stones together, over and over, trying to catch that fleeting spark.

Low-hanging clouds gathered and piled up, and seagulls circled near the water, squawking that rain was coming. The flock exchanged calls, then descended onto the reef, whispering cleverly to one another. The weather on the island was always unpredictable; even if it rained, it might only last a few minutes. The rain clouds were like a wet towel—wrung out to soak the island’s earth and creatures, then casually drifting away toward higher ground.

Suddenly, heavy raindrops fell upon the waves, creating millions of crisp, tinkling sounds. The cacophony of the rain acted like a surprise force, interrupting the waves' constant chatter in the mage's ears.

They laughed and frolicked; every downpour was a secret ball. The roaring music of the rain interrupted Lin Bo’s thoughts. He was soaked to the bone on the reef, while the cunning seagulls had long since taken shelter in the rocky caves. From afar, they watched the mage, letting out undisguised mocking cries.

Lin Bo stood motionless on the reef, desperately chasing the sound of the waves that had been suppressed, listening to them mutter low beneath the roaring, euphoric rain. Because of the rain, the language of the waves was shattered, forced into a passive silence—like a bass guitar ignored by the wayside when other instruments begin to play.

Lin Bo continued to pursue the sound of the waves. Gradually, he caught a message beyond language from its suppressed voice. When the bass is drowned out, it does not disappear; it continues to drive the rhythm of the entire piece. When language is forced into silence, the words that could not be spoken are finally uttered. The True Name of the waves appeared as a faint, unassuming rune in his vision, possessing a structural similarity to the True Name rune in his mind.

This rune was the True Name of the waves. Yet, though Lin Bo saw it, he could not remember it.

"What now? I have reached 'Only through speech does silence arise,' but how do I achieve 'Only through silence does speech become'?"

Lin Bo remained calm while his thoughts raced. "The key is the subject. In the first half, the subject is the thing being listened to. In the second half, the subject must be the listener. My own silence is required to manifest the language!"

Regardless of whether this answer was correct, he decided to follow his intuition and sat down in the rain to meditate once more.

Black Snake Meditation Technique Lv1 (49/50): Sink into deep sleep, rapidly restore mental energy.

Having practiced five times a day, after seven days, the Black Snake Meditation Technique was on the verge of advancement. Before falling into a deep slumber, Lin Bo’s last thought was a hope that the rain would not stop too quickly.

"Ah, why won't it stop raining?" Behind the window of the White Conch Tavern, the waitress rested her chin in her hands, lost in thought.

"Want to go watch the fun again? Heard you were assisting the Watcher yesterday. Look at this posturing." The owner, calculating accounts behind the counter, spoke with nonchalance.

"This is the warm heart passed down through our family!"

"Since it's raining, probably no one will go to the lighthouse. You stay here; if you go out, you'll end up looking like a drowned goose."

"Sigh..."

The rain grew colder. The mage on the reef was like a damp wooden carving, his warm skin turning icy.

[Skill check successful...]
[Health coefficient x1.2 (Excellent)]

Between waking and sleeping, Lin Bo heard the system notification, as clear and pleasant as ever. He responded mechanically: "Upgrade."

Black Snake Meditation Technique Lv2 (0.2/100): Actively enter a state of suspended animation, restore mental energy efficiently; can awaken at any time while conscious.

Lin Bo had been gazing at the elusive True Name of the waves in his field of vision. As he fell into meditation, the True Name rune grew brighter, and its faint pronunciation echoed in his ears. He felt he was on the verge of grasping this hidden True Name.

But it was always just out of reach. The more he pursued it, the heavier his distracting thoughts became, and the True Name rune grew dimmer and more silent. After upgrading his meditation technique to Lv2, he chose to gamble everything, forcing himself into a state of suspended animation to compel absolute silence within.

His heartbeat vanished in an instant, and his face, which still held a hint of color, turned deathly pale in the rain. Lin Bo could no longer feel his body, and his thoughts became faint and distant, like a young snake curled within an egg. He had only the simplest conscious activity, completely forgetting to chase the True Name rune.

But the sounds of the outside world continued to flow into his ears. Previously, his mind had been like a noisy spring where incoming raindrops disappeared; now, it had become a dry well, where the raindrops struck the walls with crisp, resonant vibrations.

That elusive True Name rune finally manifested fully in his mind, shining brilliantly, and its pronunciation echoed in his ears.

A moment later.

"Hoo—hoo—!" Lin Bo gasped, eyes snapping open. His chest expanded as he took rapid, deep breaths, allowing his stagnant blood to surge once more.

He had mastered the two necessary conditions for True Name Perception. Henceforth, he would have a trail to follow when exploring the True Names of other things.

The Watcher stood up, looking at the gloomy sky. The sun ignited the edges of the lead-grey rain clouds in the west; night was falling.

"(True Word) Wave."

Amidst the startled cries of the seagulls in the caves, the waves before Lin Bo surged high, swallowing the reef and his legs. The powerful force lifted him up, and then, carrying the mage like a galloping horse, the wave surged leisurely toward the western headland.

The speed was not fast—much slower than flying on his own—but as Lin Bo stepped upon the waves, feeling the wind on his face and letting the rain tap against his cheeks, he smiled joyfully.