Chapter 286: The Beginning of Fall
It must be said that Solitaire's centuries of experience and profound understanding of human magic had indeed greatly aided Carlo's research.
Many key points that he struggled to understand were easily resolved with the other party's seemingly casual guidance. The research progressed at an astonishing speed, far exceeding Carlo's expectations.
A few days later, in his study room filled with books and drafts, a small magic circle radiating a strong life force was successfully activated.
In the center of the magic circle, a small patch of grass that had been somewhat withered and yellowish had turned lush and vibrant green at a rate visible to the naked eye, full of vitality.
"We did it! We did it!"
Carlo was so excited that his face turned red, and his eyes shone with ecstatic light. "Although it is only the most basic form and the conversion efficiency is pitifully low, the principle is the same, which at least proves that this path is feasible!"
He stared intently at the vibrant little grass, as if he saw the dawn of humanity breaking through the limits of lifespan.
Once this magic was fully completed, he would become the greatest magician of mankind after Kurtz!
However, Solitaire, standing to the side, watched the faint flow of life energy with eyes full of mockery and deep calculation.
She stretched out her finger and gently tapped the simple magic circle, calmly pouring cold water on the situation.
"Mr. Carlo, don't be too happy yet. Look at the energy flow here; it has consumed a lot of life force."
It took the equivalent of a year's worth of life energy for an average adult to extend the life of this little plant by less than one day.
This efficiency...was too low.
All the life energy used in these experiments came from Carlo. To speed up the progress of the experiments, he had even sacrificed his own lifespan. The price for this was obvious: he had far more white hair.
Solitaire shook her head at this behavior.
In her view, there were hundreds of thousands of humans in this capital city. Even if one or two were missing, no one would care. Why use his life energy to conduct experiments?
All she could say was that humanity's obsession with magical research was something she simply could not comprehend.
Carlo's enthusiasm cooled slightly at Solitaire's words, but he remained confident: "This is just the initial version. I can optimize the structure and improve the efficiency of energy guidance. I believe that I can eventually increase the efficiency tenfold, or even dozens of times!"
"So what if it increases tenfold?" Solitaire's voice remained calm. "Let's say that after optimization, consuming ten years of someone else's lifespan can extend your own by one month. Sounds good, right?"
Carlo's smile froze.
He instantly understood what Ayla meant.
Solitaire continued in that detached tone, "But have you thought about what this means? This means that if you wanted to live to be one hundred years old, you would need to consume more than a thousand years of someone else's lifespan, which, in human terms, was the life of more than a hundred people."
"If you wanted to live to be two hundred years old, you would need to consume more than two thousand years, which was nearly the lives of three hundred people. And this is only an ideal scenario; the workings of magic and the conversion of life energy inevitably involve losses, and the actual amount required is more than ten times that."
She turned her head, looking directly into Carlo's eyes, as if she could see into his soul: "Mr. Carlo, you are not exploring the mysteries of life; you are building a furnace that uses the lives of others as fuel to prolong your own life."
Carlo's face turned pale instantly, and he staggered back a step, bumping into the bookshelf behind him.
The bookshelf wobbled, and several books fell to the ground with a dull thud, reflecting his inner turmoil.
Having spent his entire life reproducing only this kind of magic, a certain string in Carlo's heart snapped completely.
"No…that's not how it is…" he muttered to himself, trying to refute, but Ayla's stark numbers and descriptions struck at his bottom line like a heavy hammer.
He had been so engrossed in the joy of the technological breakthrough that he was completely oblivious to the bloody cost of life behind this magic.
Seeing Carlo struggling violently and questioning his own conscience, Solitaire's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile.
She knew the time was almost right.
Next, all she needed to do was add fuel to the fire.
She sighed softly, as if talking to herself, or perhaps reminding Carlo: "Speaking of which, if Lord Kurtz really invented and used similar magic, he would have been able to live from the age of mythology to the present."
"So how many people's lifespans had he consumed over the past thousand years?"
"Thousands upon thousands? Or...hundreds of thousands?" Her words were like a devil's whisper, drilling into Carlo's chaotic mind.
"No...No way! Lord Kurtz is a great god-slayer, a hero of humanity! How could he possibly use such evil magic!?"
Carlo retorted excitedly, clearly believing that Kurtz, a human hero and the legendary god-slayer, could never use such magic.
"But this is his only hope of survival. What if that person is still alive?"
"No, that's impossible."
Carlo shook his head desperately, but his voice grew softer and softer, his confidence clearly waning.
He suddenly understood why Kurtz had discarded this magical draft; it was indeed not a realm that humans should tread.
However, if the magic of immortality truly existed, and if Kurtz had later created this magic, continuing his own life based on plundering the lives of others...
The glorious, majestic image in Carlo's mind would be instantly shrouded in an indescribable shadow.
Solitaire felt a twisted pleasure as she watched Carlo's worldview crumble.
She didn't care whether Kurtz actually used the magic; she simply enjoyed the process of bringing down the heroes revered by humanity and disrupting their beliefs.
"Perhaps Lord Kurtz disdains to use such evil magic? Perhaps Lord Kurtz has long since passed away peacefully on this continent? Everything you just said is merely speculation."
Carlo, as if grasping at a last straw, struggled to speak.
Upon hearing this, Solitaire smiled slightly, neither confirming nor denying. That smile was meaningful, full of endless hints and mockery. She knew she didn't need to say anything more.
The seed of doubt had been planted, and it would naturally take root and sprout in the heart of this human mage.
All she had to do was quietly observe, occasionally water the plant, and watch what kind of flowers it would eventually bloom.
However, she suddenly began to look forward to it, hoping that Carlo would discover the fact that the god-slayer in his heart was still alive.
What kind of being would the other party become then?
Solitaire was very curious.
[End of Chapter]
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