On the thirty-third floor of the Alinor Arcane Tower, Lucian followed his master toward his study.
In the spacious corridor, Fernando looked at Lucian thoughtfully. "What appendix did you cut out? It seems to have had no effect whatsoever."
While Fernando was quite proficient in Necromantic Arcane Magic, this school itself still retained a strong influence from the theories of the ancient magical empires, developing along a completely different path from Earth's. For inflammation and diseased internal organs, Healing Spells or Arcane Potions would suffice—surgery was simply unnecessary.
When it came to dissecting human bodies, the focus was on studying the relationship between different organs and various illnesses, used to develop new Curse, Plague, and Disease-type Arcane Magic, or to reduce the requirements of similar existing spells. This also meant that necromancers had a rather broad classification of internal organs; the appendix and cecum were generally lumped together as "intestines" without precise distinction.
"I named it the appendix. While dissecting and studying Gwil's body recently, I discovered by chance that if this section of intestine is removed, and Gwil's regenerative ability is suppressed with Arcane Magic, there is absolutely no negative impact. Meaning, it practically serves no function." Lucian explained with the rationale he'd long prepared. After all, his master was well aware that he now had a ninth-tier Dark Knight as experimental material.
As for immune system concerns, for a knight, they were negligible.
Fernando gave a short laugh. "You can't say it serves *no* function. At least it could serve as the primary material for an improved version of the Vitality Concealment Spell."
He showed no surprise at Lucian's dissection of Gwil; on the contrary, he stated approvingly, "It is about time you deepened your research into bloodlines. It's a beneficial supplement to soul research. Many life-extension rituals in the future will require foundational knowledge in this area. Don't tell me you're planning to become a lich? Or are you willing to watch Natasha die many years before you?"
"Knights cannot become liches, and becoming a Death Knight leads to corruption by negative energy, turning you into practically another person. So, there aren't many Legendary-tier Arcane Magic rituals effective for extending her life. Those with good results, reaching over a millennium, number no more than five, as far as I know. Without a solid foundation in the Necromantic school, even a peak Legendary mage couldn't oversee them. When the time comes, you certainly wouldn't go begging Vicente, would you?"
"Isn't there still you, Master? You oversaw the Necromantic ritual just now." Lucian noted these words, offering his master a small verbal compliment.
Fernando said impatiently, "That girl has great potential to advance to the Epic realm. When she needs her life extended, I might have already perished while exploring the True Reality of the world. Furthermore, the materials required for these five Legendary Arcane Magic rituals are extremely precious. For instance, my current life-extension ritual, the 'Blessing of the Dragons,' was done in concert with Heather, with
"An Epic-tier Primordial Dragon..." Lucian realized obtaining such materials would be nearly impossible. Each dragon's physical body was formidable on its own, and their Arcane power grew with age. An Epic-tier Primordial Dragon's magical prowess was not inferior to that of a Legendary mage from the ancient magical empires.
And most importantly, fewer than seven Primordial Dragons were currently alive, all serving as influential elders in the Dark Council. Hunting one down was incredibly difficult—these were not counterfeit products like the Dark Dragon God.
Fernando ignored Lucian's expression as if he were looking at a monster and continued, "Therefore, if you cannot find suitable materials, you can only invent new rituals yourself. This requires considerable mastery of the Necromantic school. Did you think Heather didn't want to extend Patrick's life? It's just that both his body and soul have weakened beyond the point where existing rituals can have much effect—they can only provide a marginal boost. And Heather isn't skilled in Necromantic Arcane Magic, so she cannot create new rituals tailored to specific circumstances. Even I fall short in this regard."
He did not mention the Undead Master; clearly, Vicente would not help Heather.
"I understand." Lucian nodded solemnly, though not with excessive urgency. He and Natasha were both still young. For now, the priority was to focus on improving his Arcane rank and striving to advance to the Legendary realm. The matter of life extension could be considered in the future.
As he spoke, Lucian asked curiously, "Master, how many years can your 'Blessing of the Dragons' extend a life?"
Fernando, adopting a rather irreverent and smug demeanor, replied, "This ritual, depending on the quality of the materials, the overseer's understanding of soul and flesh, and certain unknown factors, grants between two thousand to five thousand years. Moreover, it can be stacked with other life rituals. Back then, Heather and I each extended our lives by four thousand seven hundred years."
This was close to the best possible outcome, no wonder his master was so smug, Lucian thought silently. He then continued, "And what about the other Legendary mages? The ones who didn't become liches."
"I'm not entirely clear about the others; this is a personal secret. I only know that Douglas traded with the Elven race and used the 'Gift of Nature' ritual with a fruit from the World Tree that takes ten thousand years to bear. Brooke hasn't used any Epic-tier ritual to extend his life yet." Fernando opened the study door.
Brooke was less than two hundred years old; with his Epic rank supplemented by ordinary life-extension rituals, his lifespan could already reach a millennium, so he had no pressing need to pursue further measures yet. Fernando was different; he and Douglas were mages who had grown up during the era of the ancient magical empires, already over a thousand years old. Heather had simply shared in the ritual materials due to their alliance.
Having satisfied his curiosity, Lucian smiled. "Master, I'll return to the Arcane Tower first to place this 'Vitality Amulet' in the tower's core protection zone."
This amulet containing the appendix wasn't as vital as a lich's phylactery—it wouldn't cause his immediate death if destroyed, merely rob him of his chance at resurrection. However, it was exchanged for half his fortune, so he couldn't afford to be careless.