After a brief speech, Shangara picked up a pale-black arcane robe and draped it over Lucian's shoulders. "Exploring the mysteries of life will surely bring true immortality!" Following the telepathic instructions from Shangara, Lucian left a Spiritual Mark at the core of the robe and received the information it contained:
"'Fountainhead' Immortal Throne Award Robe, seventh-grade perfect-tier item (one layer of seal — requires advancement to the high tier to break the seal and unleash its full power)."
"After donning this arcane robe, all corpses within a two-kilometer radius (except undead whose strength reaches the high tier or above) will be awakened, and the wearer may command them to fight on their behalf. After donning this arcane robe, the wearer may alter its appearance to any form; even high-ranking mages and Masters will be unable to detect its true nature without careful inspection. After donning this arcane robe, should the wearer die, their soul will be sheltered and retreat into the robe's core — should anyone else attempt to control the core, the wearer may seize the opportunity to swap souls and claim the other's body."
"This arcane robe also provides the magical resistance of a fifth-circle mage and the defensive capabilities of a third-grade Great Knight. Through the powerful death energy it contains, the wearer may cast the fifth-circle spell 'Soul Shackles' three times per day, 'Spectral Transformation' three times per day, and the seventh-circle spell 'Decay Ray' three times per day (in a sealed state — at the cost of complete spiritual energy depletion with no recovery for a short period and severe damage to life force, it may be used once through the seal before reaching the sixth rank)."
"In October of the year 819, we present this arcane robe in gratitude to Mr. Lucian Evans for his tremendous contributions to the origin of life."
"The origin of life conceals the fountainhead of immortality!"
"— Gaoqi Cromwell."
After changing into the "Fountainhead" robe, Lucian couldn't help but shake his head with a laugh. The Pale Hand really was stingy — the robe's properties were enough to make one cry or laugh. They'd even included appearance-shifting as one of its permanent effects, and the two fifth-circle spells were practically useless. "Soul Shackles" could extract an enemy's soul and imprison it within an item belonging to the caster, primarily used for interrogation — it couldn't target souls that hadn't yet dissipated after death. "Spectral Transformation" converted ordinary undead and the caster themselves into a spectral state.
Originally, Lucian had hoped the "Pale Hand" would permanently affix life restoration and limb regeneration magic, so that he could use the Homme Crown rings without any hesitation. But they hadn't considered his actual needs at all — awakening and controlling the dead was almost useless, since this wasn't his preferred combat style. Fortunately, the seventh-circle spell and the other permanent effect were reasonably satisfactory. "Decay Ray" could bypass most defenses just like the "Dark Blade," sealing the target one rank lower. If the target lacked the corresponding ability to resist, they would drop another rank after twelve seconds. The difference from the Dark Blade was that it didn't require a special ritual to recover — its effect only lasted five minutes, and could be dispelled by corresponding magic such as "Ruby Reversal Ray." As for the ability to "hide within the robe's core and, when someone attempts to control the robe, seize the other's body" — while it struck Lucian as "despicable" and "shameless," he had to admit it was an excellent means of self-preservation, a last glimmer of hope in a desperate situation. Very much in keeping with the Pale Hand's style.
"Please, Mr. Lucian Evans, share with us your feelings upon receiving the Immortal Throne Award, and your thoughts on necromancy." Shangara's skull betrayed no expression, being nothing but bare bone.
Thoughts on necromancy? Lucian muttered to himself, then stepped forward. He saw Felipe's expressionless face and Sosa's eyes gleaming with red light.
"The immortality of life is the ultimate pursuit of necromancy," Lucian said simply, "but we still know very little about the mysteries of life. It is an unknown domain worthy of our awe. For instance, why can bloodlines be inherited? Why can they be merged? What exactly does aging manifest as at the cellular level? All of these require our systematic exploration — but our methods of exploration limit our progress, which necessitates cooperation from other schools of magic."
"No school of magic exists in isolation!"
Hearing Lucian's speech, Felipe furrowed his brow slightly. He too had reached the point where his methods were limiting his progress? Then how far had his necromancy actually advanced?
After the brief speech, Felipe suddenly saw Lucian walking straight toward him, wearing a gentle yet suspicious smile. He asked doubtfully, "What is it?"
"I recall we once had an agreement." Lucian grinned brightly — had he not spotted Felipe during the speech just now, he would have almost forgotten about it. Fortunately, he'd remembered. This was tremendously favorable news for him.
Felipe's pathologically pale face shifted slightly. "Do you need to extend your life, or enhance your soul's strength?"
Once Lucian mentioned it, he remembered immediately. After being assassinated by Traquail, he'd been eager for revenge and had pressured and threatened Lucian into submitting the paper on synthetic urea. In the process, he'd promised the benefit of a ritual — pledging to help Lucian or Lucian's friends extend their lives or enhance their soul strength.
"Enhance my soul strength. I just had my soul potential unlocked, so ordinary magic rituals won't work." Lucian looked at Felipe with a half-smile.
Felipe narrowed his eyes. "The Pale Hand has several special soul rituals." But they were expensive! Still, having given his word, a proud mage like Felipe would never go back on it — he could only grit his teeth and bear it. The earnings from the past two years on cellular memory and the improved Life Concealment ritual — an internal-trade special ritual, available only to high-ranking mages belonging to the Pale Hand, exceptionally expensive — would all have to be paid out. He suddenly wondered if he'd been too impulsive back then, thinking it would only be a third- or fourth-circle level life-extension or soul-strengthening ritual, costing at most twenty thousand arcane points.
"I'm truly grateful. It would be best to hold it within the next few days — hmm, in Allendre, under my teacher's supervision."
Felipe's hands clenched into fists inside his pockets, wanting nothing more than to smash Lucian's smug, smiling face. His voice seeped through clenched teeth. "You'll have to give me five days to prepare the materials."
"No problem. I'll be waiting, Mr. Felipe."
Lucian was in excellent spirits, entirely unbothered by Felipe's attitude. Seeing Lucian turn to leave, Felipe gradually calmed down. Then suddenly, a chill ran through him, and the words escaped before he could stop them.
"Your Cognition World has undergone preliminary materialization?"
Otherwise, why would he be in such a rush to enhance his soul strength? Felipe knew full well that for geniuses like himself and Lucian — valued by the Council, cared for by their organizations, taught by legendary mages — magic potions had never been an issue. The speed at which soul and spiritual strength improved depended solely on their own inclinations and their teachers' counsel (most legendary mages did not approve of rapid short-term advancement in their students, believing it would undermine their foundation). The bottleneck had always been the preliminary materialization of the Cognition World and deciphering sixth-circle spells. In these two areas, no one could offer help — it depended entirely on one's own efforts. For instance, Felipe's own Cognition World had achieved preliminary materialization after synthesizing lipids, and thus, within a single month, his soul and spiritual strength had reached the requirements for advancement. He successfully advanced through the magic ritual. Of course, his spiritual strength had been honed over many years and was already close to the standard — so for Lucian to advance quickly, relying on potions alone would not suffice.
During his time as a mid-ranking mage, Felipe had received guidance and covert assistance from Congers, the "Demi-God Lich," and shortly after becoming a high-ranking mage, he had become his disciple.
Lucian turned his head, thought for a moment, then smiled teasingly. "You... guess."
How could he possibly tell a rival something like that so openly!
"Bastard!" Felipe cursed inwardly in fury, growing ever more certain of his guess. The speed at which this damn fellow was advancing was nothing short of astonishing! Was it due to the discontinuous energy hypothesis, or the discovery of the electron? With a dark expression, his thoughts churned.
……
Allendre Arcane Tower. The thirty-third floor.
Lucian stood before Fernando, his heart unsettled.
"Are you certain you want to use the Pale Hand's soul ritual for advancement?" Fernando said gravely. "You've just had your soul potential unlocked — using a soul ritual to advance immediately will make your foundation extremely unstable. In the future, during the high-ranking mage stage, advancement will be considerably more difficult. Originally, with your arcane talent, once you became a high-ranking mage, you could have aspired to reach the Master rank within fifteen to twenty years — but after this forced advancement, it could be delayed to thirty years, sixty years, or even a hundred years. Or longer."
"After Balak attempted to assassinate you, I considered whether to hold a similar ritual for you. In the end, I decided to let you grow naturally. You were staying in Allendre, where there was no danger. Why the rush?"
After careful consideration, Lucian said bluntly, "Master, I have a personal matter that urgently requires my attention. Considering how dangerous it is to venture out, I have no choice but to pay the price with my future advancement in exchange for a short-term boost."
"A personal matter? What could be worth the risk of venturing out into such danger? Have you been deceived by someone?" Countless sparks of lightning flickered in Fernando's eyes as he confirmed there were no traces of illusion or soul-control spells on Lucian.
"Master... can this be kept between us?" Lucian felt uneasy, sensing his request was weak and unlikely to convince Fernando.
Fernando's red eyes stared intently at Lucian until Lucian was on the verge of breaking into a cold sweat. Only then did he close his eyes and nod slightly. "If this is your choice, don't complain about the price you'll pay later."
He actually wasn't going to press further? Lucian let out a long sigh of relief and was about to turn and leave when he suddenly heard Fernando's voice.
"Wait."
"Master? What else is it?" Lucian's heart jumped again.
Fernando tapped lightly on the desk. "The Pale Hand's special soul rituals are indeed far superior to any similar rituals I know of. Perhaps the instability won't be too severe."
"Mm." Lucian didn't know what Fernando was getting at.
Fernando was silent for a moment, then slowly drew a scroll from within his robe. "This is that trigger-type spatial transfer scroll you've used before. Keep it on you. I don't want to see my foolish student get himself killed."
"Master..." An indescribable surge of emotion welled up from the depths of Lucian's heart.
Fernando suddenly broke into a grin, looking like a roguish old man. "When I was young, I did plenty of ridiculous things myself — many choices that seem laughable in hindsight. So I understand you young people. It's a price that must be paid for growing up. However, the ninth-grade Karachi beasts used to craft this kind of scroll are exceedingly rare. I only have two left. If you want to make mistakes again in the future, you won't have the chance."
"Also, you probably haven't saved enough money yet. If you can't gather all the materials needed to advance to the high tier, then mortgage your annual stipend for the next three years to me and go look through my demiplane warehouse."
"Yes, Master." Lucian's voice trembled slightly.