Chapter 259: The Road to Dangerous Realms
The Magic Association's library occupies an entire floor of the tower.
Serie not only obtained the treasures from the Royal Library from Fidel, but also brought her own magic books with her. The vast space was filled with countless bookshelves, densely packed with numerous ancient scrolls, as if the air itself was permeated with the scent of magical dust.
Because there weren't many people who passed the Level 2 Magician exam, the place was quite empty at the moment, with only a few magicians occasionally seen coming to consult the scriptures.
Flamme was among them.
When the Magic Association was established, she moved here with the others. Although she was entitled to read the magic books here without any assessment, and even the magic books behind Serie on the next level, she could read them at will.
Flamme, however, wanted to find some obscure magic from the mythical era in these magic books to see if there was anything she needed.
She was floating in mid-air, her fingertips tracing the spines of rows of books as she quickly flipped through them.
She had been searching for a long time, but still hadn't found it. However, she wasn't in a hurry. Persistence pays off, and she finally found some information in an ancient book.
The clues inside pointed to another magic book, and Flamme immediately went to find it. But she seemed to be a step too late.
'Hmm?'
Seeing the figure in front of the bookshelf, Flamme paused slightly. She withdrew her magic and slowly descended.
A young male mage was standing next to the bookshelf. He looked young, dressed in a simple mage's robe, with slightly messy short black hair and a pair of crystal glasses perched on his nose. Behind the lenses, his eyes gleamed with an almost fanatical light.
The other person was trying to take a magic book down from a high bookshelf, but it was out of reach, and there was nothing like a stool nearby. Although flying magic has gradually spread, due to the difficulty of learning it and the requirement for magical power, very few mages can use it.
Flamme noticed that, judging from the direction the other person was reaching out, it seemed their target was the very magic book she wanted. Furthermore, he was wearing a Level 2 Mage badge on his chest, indicating he had passed Teacher Serie's test.
It seems the other person has some magical talent. If they study magic properly, they can pass the Level 1 Mage exam in the future. But why would the other party be interested in such outdated theories in such a remote field?
A sense of curiosity arose in Flamme's heart.
She walked forward silently. With a gentle wave of her hand, the magic book slid lightly off the shelf and into her grasp.
The young mage was startled and turned around abruptly. He was stunned for a moment when he saw Flamme, especially since she wasn't wearing any badges.
"Who are you? Isn't this place only for second-level mages?"
"I am Flamme, a student of teacher Kurtz and Serie."
Flamme had intended to mention only one name, but at this moment it seemed more appropriate to mention both teachers.
The young mage reacted instantly. He had heard that Lady Serie had two disciples, both of whom were incredibly powerful mages, but he never expected that the red-haired woman in front of him was one of them. He immediately adopted a respectful yet somewhat nervous expression.
"Greetings, senior! I am Carlo!"
Flamme looked him over and handed him the spellbook. "You're looking for this, too?"
Carlo took the parchment scroll as if it were some priceless treasure, nodding repeatedly. His voice became excited. "Yes! Yes! This is it! Are you aware of this information too? No wonder you're Serie's apprentice! I always thought I was the only one interested in this kind of... uh, unconventional theory."
He seemed to realize that his research field might not be well-received, and his tone became somewhat embarrassed.
A hint of interest flashed in Flamme's eyes. "Oh? Why are you interested in this? The theories here are completely contrary to the current mainstream life magic and holy healing magic."
The magic Flamme seeks is a kind of magic from the mythical era, where monsters are born with the ability to absorb others' magical power.
However, because other people's magic is not the pure magic in the air, absorbing too much of it will pollute the magic and affect one's own magic, thus affecting one's mind and ultimately turning one into a raging monster.
This monster is now virtually extinct; there have been no sightings for at least several hundred years. However, the opponent's magic was recorded.
Although humans cannot learn the magic of monsters, thanks to the fundamental theories of magic proposed by Kurtz and the occasional research by some legendary magicians over the past thousand years, some parts of this magic system have been preserved and recorded in this book.
What Flamme wanted to do was simple: she hoped to deduce from this magic that could absorb life force a way to preserve her own existence. This magic is undoubtedly evil, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it is the opposite of all holy magic, so Flamme has no intention of telling anyone.
So what is Carlo's purpose in studying this field?
Carlo pushed up his glasses. A strange light appeared on his face. "The mainstream is not necessarily the only correct path! Senior, don't you think that while the existing magic system is powerful, it's almost entirely blank in certain aspects, such as the structure of life? Or rather, it's been deliberately avoided!"
He gestured at the spellbook in his hands, excitedly. "But these... the knowledge that Kurtz didn't pass down or record in the spellbook, the explorations that have been ignored or even considered taboo, may be the ones that hold the true secrets!"
His words subtly touched the deepest, most persistent thought in Flamme's heart.
She asked calmly, "Judging from the badge on your chest, you have passed the Level 2 Mage assessment. With your talent, you should focus on studying magic that can quickly improve your strength. This way, you might be able to pass the Level 1 Magician exam in the future and obtain the magic you want from Teacher Serie. Why cling to things that may ultimately lead nowhere?"
Carlo's face showed an almost pious expression. "It's to complete a great idea! An unfinished magical draft left by Kurtz, the first Godslayer! I think this is a kind of magic that even Lady Serie couldn't give me."
Flamme's heart skipped a beat.
Professor Kurtz's discarded drafts?
Carlo was utterly oblivious to Flamme's subtle emotional shifts, having become wholly absorbed in his own world. He leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping to an almost reverent whisper.
"By chance, I obtained a fragment of Kurtz's early abandoned magical concept! At first, I was completely unable to reconstruct or deduce it, but through my continuous efforts over the years, coupled with my research on the drafts left behind by Kurtz, I feel that I have begun to grasp the truth of this magic."
He paused for effect. "All I can say is that Kurtz's idea is simply astounding! He's actually trying to break the limits of human lifespan, extending it in a way I haven't even figured out yet!"
His voice trembled slightly with excitement.
"But," his tone suddenly dropped, "it was just an extremely rough structural framework and a bunch of messy formula symbols. I have exhausted all my efforts and energy, but I can only understand a small part of it. I cannot decipher the derivation of many key nodes, no matter what I do."
He removed his glasses, wiping them with frustration before replacing them. "I have reached my own bottleneck. Although I know that Kurtz's discarded draft is related to life magic, I have no idea what the specific method or form is, nor do I have any way of knowing."
"That's why when I heard that the Land of El has established this Magic Association, which houses countless ancient texts, I rushed here immediately, hoping to find some relevant clues or information."
Flamme listened quietly, her heart filled with turmoil. She was almost certain that the young mage before her was obsessed with researching the very field she had always dreamed of. A path that may lead to immortality, or at least greatly extend life.
Moreover, the source actually points directly to Professor Kurtz!
But upon closer examination, this is perfectly reasonable. Because Master Kurtz has already broken through the limitations of human lifespan, living from the age of mythology to the present day, thus establishing a thousand-year bond with Professor Serie.
Out of curiosity, Flamme once asked Kurtz about the secret of his immortality. Kurtz did not hide anything too much, and to dispel his disciple's thoughts, he told Flamme everything about how he had obtained the power of life and used it to reshape his body.
This is something only he could do; no one else could replicate it. Furthermore, Kurtz is unable to use this magic on others.
From the very beginning, this reincarnation magic was destined to allow only Kurtz to live on.
Now that she had discovered another way to prolong her life, Flamme suppressed her excitement. She maintained her composure and slowly asked, "Is this Master Kurtz's draft? Can I see exactly where the problem you encountered lies?"
Carlo hesitated for a moment. That draft was his treasure, but he could sense that the disciple of Lady Serie in front of him was unfathomably powerful and seemed to have some knowledge of this subject. The desire to learn ultimately triumphed over wariness.
He carefully took out a small box from his inner pocket. From it, he took a piece of animal-skin paper that was obviously very old and covered with dense, complicated symbols.
Only paper like this could possibly last for a thousand years. But it still can't compare to the dragon paper used in the Origin Codex. It is said that this first magic book in human history has remained perfectly preserved even after thousands of years and countless readings by humans.
Carlo pointed to several extremely bizarre and incomprehensible node formulas. His voice wavered with distress. "It's here, and here... Kurtz's magic system is completely unusable. I've tried dozens of possible solutions, and they've all failed."
Flamme stared intently at it. Some of those formulas and structures she had seen with her teacher Kurtz, while a small portion were ones she had never seen before. They were clearly discarded, or even immature and dangerous, ideas from her teacher's early explorations of magic.
However, thanks to her understanding of Kurtz's magical system, Flamme still had a few flashes of inspiration. Although it wasn't much, it was enough to help the young mage in front of her complete a small part of the puzzle.
She paused for a moment and organized her thoughts.
She tried to speak in a way that wouldn't reveal her true intentions. "Your thinking might be restricted. Kurtz's magic core may not lie in its stability, but rather in a forced absorption and attraction. You can try applying the structural runes from this magic book and then working backwards."
She gestured to the parchment. "This single page of the draft is not enough to fully recreate Kurtz's magic. You must incorporate your own understanding; only in this way can you recreate the magic as accurately as possible."
With each word Flamme spoke, Carlo's eyes lit up a little more. Elsewhere, people would only laugh at his arrogance for trying to recreate a spell that even Kurtz couldn't complete with just a discarded draft. But now Flamme's words have given him a new direction.
Flamme even showed some magical runes he had never seen before for his study. These runes were part of the draft. Clearly, as a disciple of Serie, the other party possesses a special magical rune that is only taught between master and disciple.
Now that Flamme had actually shown him these runes, Carlo was incredibly excited.
"These magical runes... That's it! So that's how it is! So that's how it is!"
He was so excited that he was almost incoherent. He suddenly grabbed his hair and paced back and forth, muttering some incomprehensible things rapidly, completely immersed in a kind of ecstasy.
After a long while, he suddenly stopped. He bowed deeply to Flamme, his face full of gratitude.
"Senior! Thank you so much! You're amazing! I... I think I've finally gotten the hang of it. I've got an idea! I really have an idea! Hahahaha!"
By the end, Carlo was laughing maniacally. The magical runes that Flamme displayed were all things he lacked. With the help of these runes, and with his own understanding, although he cannot perfectly replicate Kurtz's magic, he can at least replicate a small part of it! This is undoubtedly a huge step forward.
Looking at him like this, Flamme felt a mix of emotions. This young mage's talent and fervor are truly astonishing, yet also terrifying. She forced a smile and said, "You're welcome. You're very talented, and I look forward to the day you succeed."
This was the truth; Flamme genuinely hoped that Carlo would succeed soon.
Carlo carefully put the precious draft back into the box and looked sincerely at Flamme. "Senior, once I successfully recreate this magic, I will definitely come to find you as soon as possible and share all my research results with you. Without your guidance and the magical rune formula you contributed, I would never have been able to research it."
Flamme's heart skipped a beat. She had intended to hint at it indirectly, but she didn't expect Carlo to say it so directly.
Perfect!
She nodded, her tone gentle. "Okay, I look forward to it."
"Yes, senior."
After bowing again, Carlo eagerly took his precious draft and the magic book and left, his footsteps quick and energized.
Flamme stood there, watching Carlo's hurried departure. A complex light flickered in her red eyes. She remained motionless for a long moment, her hand absently tracing the edge of a nearby bookshelf.
I hope the other party succeeds. In this way, I can see a glimmer of hope.
What she didn't know was that the young mage named Carlo was obsessed with restoring the magic derived from Kurtz's discarded drafts, and that the ultimate goal was far more than simply extending lifespan.
[End of Chapter]