Chapter 288: The Beginning of Corruption
It had to be said that Solitär's centuries of experience and profound understanding of human magic indeed provided enormous assistance to Carlo's research.
Many critical nodes he had agonized over were effortlessly resolved with her seemingly casual pointers.
The research progressed at a shocking speed, far exceeding Carlo's imagination.
A few days later, in his research room piled high with books and drafts, a small magic circle emitting dense waves of life force was successfully activated.
In the center of the circle, a small, withered yellow blade of grass turned lush green at a speed visible to the naked eye, brimming with vitality.
"Success! We succeeded!"
Carlo's face was flushed with excitement, his eyes shining with ecstasy. "Although it is only the most basic form and the conversion efficiency is pitifully low, the principle holds! At the very least, it proves this path is viable!"
He stared obsessively at the revitalized grass, as if seeing the dawn of humanity breaking the limits of lifespan.
Once this magic was fully completed, he would become the greatest human mage since Lord Rhodes!
However, standing to the side, Solitär watched the faint flow of life energy, her eyes filled with mockery and deep calculation.
She extended a finger, lightly tapping the crude magic circle, and calmly poured a bucket of cold water on him.
"Mr. Carlo, do not celebrate too early. Look at the energy flow here; it consumed quite a bit of life force."
"It took life energy equivalent to one year of an ordinary adult's life just to extend the vitality of this blade of grass for less than a day."
"This efficiency... is simply too low."
The life energy used for these experiments had all been provided by Carlo. To speed up the progress, he hadn't hesitated to contribute his own lifespan. The cost was obvious: quite a few white hairs had appeared on his head.
Solitär shook her head at this behavior.
In her view, there were hundreds of thousands of humans in this capital. Even if one or two went missing, no one would care. Why use his own life energy for experiments?
She simply couldn't understand humanity's obsession with magical research.
Carlo's enthusiasm cooled slightly at Solitär's words, but he remained confident. "This is just the initial version."
"I can optimize the structure and improve the energy guidance efficiency. I believe that eventually, I can increase the efficiency tenfold, even dozens of times over!"
"So what if you increase it dozens of times?" Solitär's voice remained flat. "Assuming that after optimization, consuming ten years of someone else's life can extend your own by one month. Sounds good, right?"
The smile on Carlo's face froze.
He instantly understood Ariel's meaning.
Solitär continued her cold analysis. "But have you thought about what this implies?"
"It means that if you want to live to be a hundred, you need to consume over a thousand years of someone else's life. Converting that to humans, that is the lives of over a hundred people."
"And if you want to live to two hundred, you need to consume over two thousand years—nearly three hundred lives."
"And this is under ideal conditions. The operation of magic and the conversion of life energy inevitably incur losses. The actual need will be more than ten times higher."
She turned her head, staring directly into Carlo's eyes, as if piercing his soul. "Mr. Carlo, you are not exploring the mysteries of life. You are building a furnace that burns the lives of others as fuel for your own longevity."
Carlo's face turned deathly pale. He staggered back a step, crashing into the bookshelf behind him.
The shelf shook, and several books fell to the floor with dull thuds, mirroring the panic in his heart.
To spend his entire life only to reproduce this kind of magic? A string in Carlo's heart snapped completely.
"No... it is not like that..." he muttered, trying to refute her. But Ariel's naked numbers and description hammered against his bottom line like a sledgehammer.
He had been immersed in the joy of technical breakthroughs, completely ignoring the bloody cost of life behind this magic.
Watching Carlo plunge into intense struggle and self-interrogation, a barely perceptible arc curled at the corner of Solitär's mouth.
She knew the timing was about right.
Next, she only needed to add a little more fuel to the fire.
She sighed softly, as if talking to herself, yet clearly reminding Carlo: "Speaking of which... if that Lord Rhodes truly invented and used similar magic to live from the Mythical Era until now..."
"Then over these thousand-plus years, exactly how many people's lives has he consumed?"
"Thousands? Or... hundreds of thousands?"
Her words burrowed into Carlo's chaotic mind like the whisper of a devil.
"Impossible! Lord Rhodes is the great God-slayer, the hero of humanity! How could he possibly use such evil magic?!"
Carlo rebutted agitatedly. Clearly, in his heart, the heroic image of the God-slayer Rhodes could never be associated with such magic.
"But this is his only hope for survival. What if that Lord really is still alive?"
"No... impossible..."
Carlo shook his head desperately, but his voice grew quieter, his confidence visibly waning.
He suddenly understood why Lord Rhodes had discarded this magical draft back then. This was indeed a domain humans should not touch.
But... if immortality magic truly existed, and if Lord Rhodes had eventually created this magic, basing the extension of his own life on plundering the lives of others...
The glorious, towering image in Carlo's heart was instantly cast in an unspeakable shadow.
Solitär watched the pain of Carlo's worldview being shattered, a surge of twisted pleasure rising in her heart.
She didn't care if Rhodes actually used this magic. She simply enjoyed the process of dragging humanity's revered hero off his altar and throwing their convictions into chaos.
"Perhaps Lord Rhodes disdained using such evil magic? Perhaps he has long since been laid to rest on this continent? Everything you just said is merely speculation."
Carlo struggled to speak, grasping at the last straw.
Hearing this, Solitär merely smiled lightly. Neither affirming nor denying.
That smile was meaningful, filled with endless implication and mockery.
She knew she didn't need to say anything more.
The seed of doubt had been planted. It would naturally take root and sprout in this human mage's heart.
And she only needed to watch quietly from the side, occasionally watering it, to see what kind of flower this plant would eventually bloom.
However, she suddenly began to look forward to it. She looked forward to Carlo discovering the fact that the God-slayer in his heart was actually still alive.
When that time came... what kind of existence would he become?
Solitär was very curious.
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