Chapter 323: Two Research Directions
The headquarters of the Continental Magic Association in the Kingdom of Ersten appeared somewhat desolate at this moment.
After all, the vast majority of mages were still at the northern battlefield and hadn't returned. Those remaining in the Association were either research-oriented mages or newly inducted apprentices studying the basics.
The Imperial Capital of Ersten, however, remained as tranquil as ever.
Although the turmoil in the Southern Empire and the news of the demons in the North had caused quite a stir, as the situation continued to improve, the populace gradually set their minds at ease.
The tower of the Magic Association stood tall in the center of the capital, and the atmosphere of seeking knowledge once again became the main theme of the place.
The return of Rhodes and Serie did not cause much of a ripple. In fact, very few people even knew they had left.
Of course, Rhodes's name had now returned to the continent.
Coupled with his joint appearance with Serie in the capital of the Southern Unified Empire, most people now assumed Rhodes was residing in the Magic Association. This undoubtedly boosted the Association's fame once again, surpassing even the Saint Katiya Magic Academy to become the most renowned holy land of magic for humanity.
This depressed the mages of the Saint Katiya Magic Academy quite a bit, though none dared to voice their complaints. After all, the oldest human mage was sitting in the rival camp.
Some mages, were it not for the contracts they had signed with the Academy, might have already run over to join the Magic Association just to catch a glimpse of the legendary God-slayer.
However, along with the fame came those prying into the secret of Rhodes's immortality.
After all, it was eternal life! Magic that allowed a short-lived species like humans to live for over a thousand years! It was an existence countless mages had researched in the past.
Now, it was held in the hands of this legendary mage.
How could this not give rise to covetous thoughts?
Rhodes and Serie had killed a batch of them in the Southern Empire, but clearly, that hadn't completely dispelled the notions of others.
However, these people were currently lurking in the shadows, daring not to expose themselves, only able to accumulate strength in secret.
As for the crystal sealing the Demon King Annelise, it was personally placed by Rhodes in the deepest part of the Association's underground. Surrounded by layers of defensive barriers, it was guarded jointly by him and Serie to ensure nothing went wrong.
In Rhodes's estimation, completely grinding away the filthy divine power within Annelise would likely take at least several thousand years.
Life seemed to return to its original track, yet it was somewhat different.
Rhodes poured most of his energy into his laboratory at the top of the Association tower, researching new magic—such as the magic he had promised Serie that would bridge the reproductive isolation between different species.
From the outside, Rhodes's laboratory didn't look large, but the interior was incredibly vast—the effect of Spatial Expansion Magic.
Rhodes had once used the power of Spatial Magic to create something akin to a storage space.
Unfortunately, limited by a mage's mana capacity and the stability of the surrounding space, it wasn't suitable for long-distance travel.
On one hand, this kind of spatial magic required the mage to be incredibly proficient in the use of spatial power. On the other hand, it required the mage to be able to break or stabilize the surrounding space at any time and place.
A slight slip-up could cause the stored items to fall directly into the turbulence of time and space, making them nearly impossible to retrieve.
Therefore, the best place to use this kind of storage magic was actually in a fixed space that rarely moved.
A storage magic that couldn't be used during travel... it could only be said that Rhodes was somewhat disappointed.
However, he was constantly improving it. Perhaps in the future, he could research a spatially stable storage magic.
At this moment, his room was piled high with various experimental apparatuses and draft papers covered in magical runes that would dazzle an ordinary mage.
His research focus had clearly shifted to two directions.
First, the magic capable of breaking racial boundaries, facilitating the fusion of human and elven bloodlines.
This was the prerequisite for him to truly change his own life formula and achieve complete immortality.
First, by creating this magic, he would realize a partial change to the genetic formula of life itself. Then, he would touch upon the power of faith or Divine Power belonging to gods, allowing himself to master that power.
Finally, using the authority once given to him by the Goddess of Life, he would rewrite his own life formula, thereby living on forever without the need for Reincarnation Magic!
This was a process countless times more complex than any magic he had ever created, and a field requiring extreme caution. Even for him, progress was not rapid, but he had enough patience and time.
Second, he hadn't completely set aside his research into the nature of demons.
Olivia would occasionally transmit messages via special magical signals regarding fluctuations of Holy Magic in the North.
She was very diligent about Rhodes's arrangement. Unfortunately, among the magical fluctuations she sensed, there was no sign of Carlo.
According to Flamme's previous account, Carlo had fallen into some underground labyrinth, his fate unknown.
If he were dead, Olivia naturally wouldn't sense his mana fluctuations. But if he had survived by luck, it was very likely that the labyrinth had effects that partially blocked magical information, so it was normal for Olivia not to sense him immediately.
However, the mana fluctuation of the original Holy Scripture runes was significant. One day, it would be impossible to hide. Rhodes wasn't worried.
As for Serie, after experiencing the battle with the Demon King Annelise that touched upon the level of a Demigod, she seemed to have entered a state of sedimentation.
She no longer devoted all her time to the study of magic as she had in the past. A subtle change was occurring within her.
Perhaps a long life truly needed new anchors. She began to turn part of her attention toward the young mages in the Association.
In her words, she prepared to "cast a wide net and take many apprentices" to pass the time.
And so, on a sunny day, Serie made a decision that surprised many of the older mages in the Association.
She announced that she would recruit several apprentices for personal guidance.
As soon as the news came out, the younger generation of the entire Magic Association boiled over with excitement.
In the past, Serie's acceptance of apprentices was entirely whimsical.
Whether it was Ela or Flamme, she had taken them in simply because they were pleasing to her eye. Aside from these two, only one other elven girl had been lucky enough to gain Serie's favor.
But due to the events in the Southern Unified Empire and the appearance of the Demon King, Serie had left the Association and thus hadn't taken her as an apprentice. So, on the surface, Serie's only official apprentices were Flamme and Ela.
Now, facing the news that the legendary Elven Saint, Lady Serie, was recruiting apprentices, the young mages were all ecstatic.
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