Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 478 - 440

"You are the ’Bone,’ the foundation that carries everything. Nia is the ’Flesh,’ the authority that harbors strength. The Ominous is the ’Spirit,’ the divine oracle that issues commands. Bone and Flesh and Spirit, this is your entirety, the balance constituted by the power of God within you, according to the definition of Spirit Summoning Studies."

Sunlight could only penetrate through the tiny window panes, leaving behind a small patch of light after being blocked by the thick purple velvet. Mr. Scholar sat in a misshapen rocking chair, opposite a handcrafted wooden table, as Lyle’s upper body sank into a large heap of cushions.

The surrounding walls were covered with the scorched marks left by magical destruction, but Lyle knew that, beyond the brick wall, was pure silver. This tower was supposed to be a shiny silver house, but some brat had turned it into their studio using magic. Looking at those stain-like remnants of temporal energies, Mr. Scholar’s face bore a nostalgic expression.

With a casual swipe, he opened a rift in time and space, fetching a cup of perfectly timed tea from the other side and placing it before Lyle.

"Countess Alianna’s tea, something Anna and I had recommended. Perhaps this cup might make you feel a bit better after you’ve improved her formula not long after."

Picking up the cup, savoring the familiar taste, Lyle fell back into the soft pillows, tumbling back without any sense of security—fortunately, these fluffy things were unexpectedly safe.

"Teacher, a chair would give me a greater sense of security."

"Carlos didn’t like chairs when he was young; he thought they interfered with the freedom of his butt," said the Scholar, pointing straight at the pillows. "You can do it yourself, Lyle, let me see your power."

Under the gaze of the Scholar’s soul fire, Lyle lifted his right leg, and in the shadow that overlapped with Lyle’s own, rampant tentacles curled up the pile of pillows, blossoming like cotton with the cotton fluff led by the black and red tentacles, bursting from within, transforming into flesh and blood. By the time his right leg rested completely over his left, Lyle sat upon the high-backed chair made of flesh and bone, with symmetrically placed eyeballs at the top, twinkling like jewels.

"Excellent flesh transformation. The Giant Dragon would surely be pleased. In fact, if we trace the origins of Spirit Summoning Studies, it could be considered a part of diminished knowledge of the Evil God, even closer to the truth in a way," the Scholar shrugged his shoulder blades. "When you’ve touched upon a wide enough array, you will find that many disciplines share common ground because their origins, the source of their mystical side, all stem from the knowledge of the Evil God."

"Maybe I could become the first all-encompassing professor in Andrey?" Lyle joked.

"The purpose of a professor lies in teaching, a feat you can’t achieve just yet, others lack the qualifications to inherit your knowledge, even me," said the Scholar, placing his hands on the table, his stern expression relaxing slightly. "You have grown more perfectly than I imagined, Lyle. You are the most outstanding work of mine in these fifty-two years. To be honest, I should probably exclude Carlos from this."

"I interfered with your growth for my own purposes."

"The Ominous was originally your future. Due to the talent awakening caused by the miracle, breeding and embryos, Lyle, Nia was originally here to replace you. Your relationship is like the embryo and nutrient in an egg. She is the juvenile, and you are the sustenance; the Ominous is the future after growth. When the Giant Dragon brought you here, my eyes were dull; I thought you merely exhibited a bit of atavism. What followed was unexpected. You gave Nia a soul, gave her what she was supposed to take by force. She became dependent on you; similar innards made you her other half rather than food. The original main body became an accessory, with the nutrient taking the lead."

"And so, during that one instance when Nia took shape, the power of God induced the Ominous, the incorrect corrector. And then..." the Scholar laughed, "I swooped in. I sealed the Ominous, allowing the consciousness named Lyle to grow gradually, hoping that one day in the future, when the Ominous and Lyle merged, you would take the initiative."

"Although the plan took an unexpected turn, the outcome is truly a pleasant surprise."

"Nia became your strength, the Ominous your shadow, though he has disturbed you to some extent."

"The Evil God is immortal; this is a common belief among us Dragon Priests, and as former Guardians, we have paid much to prove it. I am the crazier one; perhaps because of my mage background, I excel at wielding power."

"Why not create an Evil God biased towards us?"

"That was my selfishness."

"Thank you for your selfishness, Teacher. You saved my life, I really can’t imagine the future you’ve described, I am quite content with the present."

"What you perceive isn’t necessarily good, Lyle. Just as now, the Ominous is willing to be your shadow, in that future, you wouldn’t resist him either, you two were meant to be one, ’eating’ and ’being eaten’ are merely concepts constrained by humanism. That future, for you, might not have been bad. At least, there wouldn’t have been an entity named Serio capable of taking away your future."

"Half of your talent has been taken."

Regret and anger were clearly audible in the Scholar’s tone.

"How will that affect me?"

"Do you remember the Magic Lock assessment? It’s about the division of power levels."

"I remember, ten power levels, Ten Locks as the pinnacle."

"Having lost half of your talent, you can now reach up to Five Locks at most. Beyond Five Locks, you are ’Empty.’"

"...To know that Serio could only reach Five Locks seems like good news."

The Scholar tapped the table, gazing at the graffiti on the wall, regathering some thoughts.

"Lyle, have I ever told you that the Magic Lock is an outdated mechanism for determining strength?"

"I’ve heard something to that effect."

"Magic Lock training is a power system that we, the Dragon Priests, developed in conjunction with the Giant Dragons. It remains the mainstream power system in the world today, a legacy of the previous age, but it’s not the only power system, nor is it absolute."

"So, were the Giant Dragons defeated by a new force?"

"No, the Giant Dragons were defeated by their own power. We established Ten Locks based on our own ideas, which seems ridiculous now. Our enemies proved us right; Ten Locks, the pinnacle of this world."

"Mr. Raymond..."

"It’s a shameful thing to admit, but the pinnacle of the Dragon Priest power system was occupied by the ’Dragon Disaster’, the dragon slayer."

"That wasn’t my only mistake, and the ones that followed left an even deeper impression."

"I won’t beat around the bush, the spellcasters of the Magic Lock system, we refer to them as the Ascensessors."

"And the two remaining paths..."

"Represent ’Path of the Heavens’ as the proxies, and ’Path of God’ as the Rule Breakers."

"A proxy becomes the earthly agent for a certain set of laws, grasping the Rules and becoming the absolute authority in a certain domain. Yes, it sounds familiar, doesn’t it? The creators of the proxy power system are those from Apocalypse. All the professors of the Advanced Magic Research Society are proxies. They control the Rules and become the embodiment of those Rules. As you can see, they are formidable."

"But the path of proxy has its own flaws. You have to be very intelligent, exceedingly so, because a proxy can be replaced. If someone surpasses you in the study of the Rules, you’ll be substituted, like an outdated antique losing everything once valuable to you. You’ll also bear the corresponding responsibilities because the spread of knowledge will increase your power of the Rules. And you are but a mouthpiece for the Rules; the power of the Rules themselves represents your strength. The Advanced Magic Research Society chose to study macro forces precisely for this reason. However, the more powerful it is, the harder it becomes. The more powerful, the more perilous."

"In fact, I’ve never encountered a proxy from any race other than the Liches. The Advanced Magic Research Society underpins the entire proxy power system."

"Rule Breakers have always existed; the only condition for becoming one is to embrace chaos. To no longer be constrained by Rules or disturbed by structures. This is the rule by which the Evil God grows, and although this term has its imperfections, I truly cannot find a better word than ’Rules’ to describe this potentially orderly chaos. This path, the Path of God, exists for you, for Serio. And the way to follow this path is to become chaos. Of course, you don’t need to look for the way."

"You are chaos itself, and in fact, whatever choice you make, your future is already destined, Lyle. Whether you conduct research or engage in more trivial matters, the power within you will compel you to walk this path."

"It is the same for Serio."

"For others, this path ultimately leads to becoming a vessel for a god."

"For you... But in truth, isn’t every path leading to that same end?"

"It’s just that we collapsed before reaching that end."

"Of course, I have an even more interesting analogy to help you differentiate the three paths."

"If we liken casting spells to a transaction. The Ascensessors are like becoming wealthy, using more money to buy more goods, the proxies are like becoming the bank behind the traders, using public funds to acquire goods, and the Rule Breakers are like becoming the annoying nobility, using stingy sums to purchase an excessive amount of goods, or even not paying at all."

"Although your future is destined to become a Rule Breaker, Lyle, I still suggest you reach Five Locks before completing the Rule Breaker ritual."

"One Lock signifies sprouting, the Second Lock growth, the Third Lock maturity, Four Locks joining the collective, Five Locks, a powerful individual."

"And the concept of a great individual coincides perfectly with the concept of a god."

"As for the realms after Six Locks, the king after Seven Locks, the leader of Eight Locks, the concept of Nine Locks, the embodiment of Ten Locks, they all tie the individual to the collective."

"Five Locks is the best opportunity to become a Rule Breaker."

"Based on existing experience, we refer to Rule Breakers at this stage as..."

"Perfect Rule Breakers, Divine Corpses."