Chapter 284: The Proto-Wizard System
Three months have passed since the brutal battle outside the God-Slaying Fortress.
During these three months, the war that had lasted for several years finally came to an end. Even though Shana and the Dawn Army were still wreaking havoc in the clergy territories, they could only watch from afar what was happening on the other side of the Bifrost.
No, they couldn’t even see it. An independent universe served as the barrier separating the two realms. Only limited light could pass through; any other means of detection were useless in understanding what was occurring on the other side.
This was the Empress of Eternal Night’s solitary bravery, and it was also her gift to the mortals of this universe.
Although she might not be able to return, the struggle of the Natural Selection Front would never cease.
Eternal Night World, Azurevine Empire, City of Mystery.
In the open space outside the Maple Spirit Moon Shadow Palace, many structures had been demolished to build a new “Myriad Races Hall.”
This palace had no pillars, its hundred-meter-high dome being entirely supported by material rigidity. Carved onto it were all the races within the Natural Selection Front’s alignment that had a population of over ten million.
The final count of races exceeded thirty thousand, and this number could increase or decrease with time, necessitating constant adjustments to the Myriad Races Hall.
Behind the main stage of the grand hall, the entire Maple Spirit Moon Shadow Palace was visible. Whenever anyone spoke during a representative meeting of the Natural Selection Front, the audience would see the place where their Empress had worked.
That palace was now sealed. Roger, after becoming Regent, did not occupy the imperial residence, choosing instead to remain in the Moutai Mountain Villa she had bestowed upon him.
He firmly believed she would return, and their ongoing efforts were dedicated to accelerating her return.
“On behalf of the Sky Sea Tower, I present to you all our analysis of the Negative Magic Element: Compared to Magic Elements, this fundamental particle carries the same total energy and can actively participate in various magical reactions. The basic parameters are shown below. If any research laboratory has new measurement standards, feel free to update the information at any time.”
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Paisley Newton was now the primary head of the Sky Sea Tower. At the moment of the Negative Magic Element’s outbreak, Galilei was managing the God Burial Maze. The massive eruption happened instantaneously, leaving him no time to react before he was dissolved into Magic Element-level units.
The sacrifices were numerous. Many leaders of nations and factions also lost their lives in that battle, and sorrow permeated the entire assembly.
However, everyone was beginning to move past it and resume more efficient production orders.
Regardless of what choice they made, they had to live. Even if they had only a day, a month, or a year left under divine oppression, they could not wallow in grief and use it as an excuse to evade their responsibilities in reality.
Home, country, nation, universe—perhaps not everyone could ascend to that level of awareness to bear the responsibility of supporting the entire universe. But the fate of this universe was now intrinsically linked to every individual intelligent being.
Paisley continued to summarize the important properties of the Negative Magic Element. This fundamental existence profoundly altered the universe, bringing about multifaceted impacts:
The power of magic had generally increased, but so had its unpredictable side effects. This was not only due to their limited understanding of the Negative Magic Element but also its inherently more volatile nature.
The affinity of the Negative Magic Element with the spirit was far greater than that of the Positive Magic Element, which was also the source of many mutations. Once intelligent beings lost control of their emotions, various deformities would occur.
Most mutations were irreversible. Once they developed to a certain stage, they led to psychological madness, turning individuals into irrational beings that had to be eliminated swiftly.
Magic-crystal machinery could still operate in the new environment, but it required more time for debugging, and its ultimate stability was not optimistic.
This was still the effect of the Negative Magic Element’s fundamental characteristics. It seemed the God King had always been concerned about the control exerted by mortal intelligence, so when designing the Negative Magic Element, the entire world shifted more towards the idealistic side.
This was highly disadvantageous to mages. Although their abilities and thinking were unscientific, they were fundamentally staunch materialists. However, the Negative Magic Element had now become synonymous with uncertainty.
“Although the uncontrollability of magic persists, it remains the most efficient means of energy control we can master. Our civilization is built upon this foundation. The duration for which the Bifrost can hold is uncertain; we cannot afford to search for a new path. We can only explore and summarize as we proceed. For this, we are willing to make any sacrifice. The United Council of the Secret Mages and the billion mages across all worlds are willing to become wizards. We request the Chairman’s approval.”
This once shy, brown-haired young girl had now, through her profound theoretical foundation and the application of various mathematical tools, become the fastest to decipher the mysteries of the Negative Magic Element and the spokesperson for all mages, speaking at the Congress of Myriad Races.
Roger was the Chairman of this Congress. After succeeding as the Regent of the Azurevine Empire, no plane or faction raised any objections, all considering the leader of the Azurevine Empire to be their leader as well.
This was a legacy of the Empress of Eternal Night’s prestige, as well as the deep impression left by the empire’s heroic combat and the selfless dedication of its pioneers.
Roger’s gaze swept gravely over the documents before him and he asked, “What will be the mortality rate of your exploration?”
“Exceeding fifty percent, possibly higher. But this is a path we must take.”
Paisley rolled up her sleeve, revealing an emotionless eye on her arm. Its pupil was covered with countless arcane runes, densely packed, inducing a disturbing sense of vertigo.
“This is a product of mutation, but it has also granted me enhancements in wisdom and perception. There is still a high degree of uncontrollability, but as long as we find ways to restrain it, even moderate mutation can enhance strength, even to levels previously deemed impossible.”
Paisley then presented more results of beneficial mutations to the assembled representatives. Although the images were somewhat unnamable and the effects not fully confirmed, the data they possessed proved that no matter how dangerous the Negative Magic Element was, it could be conquered by mortal intelligence.
Roger marveled at the courage of these mages. After the outbreak of the Negative Magic Element, while soldiers fought bloodily on the front lines, the mages in research had never flinched. They had been bravely undertaking all kinds of trials since then, striving to recover their former power.
The cost was heavy, the gains uncertain, but they had to press onward.
“I agree to proceed to the voting procedure,” he finally declared his stance.
The vote was, as expected, unanimous. They had nothing left to lose. Even if it meant embracing mutation and abandoning their past forms, as long as they achieved victory and their minds remained free, there was no reason to block the path to becoming stronger.
“I only hope that as you advance, you remain vigilant against the abyss and cherish your own lives.”
Roger expressed his gratitude to Paisley and the billion mages behind her, “Your exploration is invaluable, your courage is heroic, but your wisdom is the beacon that guides us to pierce the darkness.”
Paisley bowed, “We shall always remember and never lose our way on the path of power. All strength is only to illuminate the brighter path ahead of the front and to seek a safe haven within the mist.”
“Thank you for your dedication, mages.”
All representatives rose and bowed to Paisley. Many of them were also mages and, after this meeting concluded, could finally resume their meditation and delve back into magical research.
Following the outbreak of the Negative Magic Element, the Front, under martial law, issued a strict prohibition: no one was permitted to meditate or cultivate under supervision, nor to cast magic in life-threatening, non-essential situations.
This was because any meditation could trigger a mutation, and any magic cast could lead to unknown changes. To ensure social stability, the Natural Selection Front had temporarily regressed to a collection of backward medieval states.
However, this backwardness did not last long. The empire’s military had always possessed purely technological machinery and weapons, though they were primarily used in special operations and intelligence gathering. Magic-crystal machinery was still more effective on the main battlefield.
But now that magic-crystal machinery had been disabled, it was the relatively less efficient energy utilization of technological products that, after resolving some material issues and with less energy reaction from the Negative Magic Element, quickly resumed production capacity.
Thus, in areas like civilian life, agriculture, and industrial production, the Natural Selection Front rapidly restored productivity by disseminating these technologies.
Coupled with previous accumulations, there was at least no widespread famine or plague.
The monsters had changed due to the Negative Magic Element, but the troops returning from the previous battlefield against the gods dealt with them as easily as taking a vacation.
The only area of concern was medical resources. Ordinary people also had a chance of mutation, and the uncontrolled power surges of the strong could not be entirely avoided, initially causing widespread panic.
However, the benefits of past widespread knowledge were evident. If the populace had been ignorant, they would have blindly begged for divine intervention. But now, with the empire broadcasting the principles of the Negative Magic Element, people actively helped themselves and each other, employing effective suppression measures that, in the early stages, successfully controlled the development of mutations.
The research findings from various institutes were also promptly exchanged and communicated, leading to the rapid development of effective treatment measures, quickly alleviating the strain on medical resources.
However, this relief was only for the general populace. High-level professionals and spellcasters still faced irreversible mutations. The higher the original magic level of a lifeform, the greater the trouble it encountered.
Yet, the group of mages remained the cornerstone of civilization’s forward momentum. Even at the risk of their lives, they continued their research, exploring new paths of power.
The generally accepted conclusion now was that all previous methods of professional advancement could be retained and transformed into cultivation methods adapted to the characteristics of the Negative Magic Element environment.
Incorporating specific methods for emotional control meditation, suppressing physical strength and magic activity in daily life, and employing intermittent bursts of power during combat or when necessary, could significantly reduce the mental strain of the Negative Magic Element and increase the willpower stability of high-level professionals.
Further research suggested that for mages, crisis and opportunity always went hand in hand. By actively inducing mutations under a high degree of self-control, significant improvements could be achieved, along with powerful skills and talents that were previously nonexistent.
This was the arcane eye Paisley demonstrated at the Congress of Myriad Races, along with a series of new mutated organs.
If these mutated organs were used as a core, a series of entirely new professional systems could be created, resulting in new combat prowess.
This might also be a method to break through the power bottleneck for mages, especially since the highest-level forbidden spells could not be used in the Negative Magic Element environment, and the recovery of magic-crystal machinery, which once represented the pinnacle of mortal combat power, was still a distant prospect.
What would they use to fight the gods? A new wizard system might offer an answer.
The vast majority of mages, even if they did not abandon their old professional systems, were willing to research and dabble in the wizard system. However, previously, the Natural Selection Front had prohibited the public dissemination and sharing of wizardry knowledge.
Uncontrollable, dangerous, high mortality rate, an uncertain future—a series of problems.
This led to the joint petition by the mages for this notarization meeting.
The path of seeking knowledge has always been one thatSFears no death. Even if knowledge only advances by a tiny bit, the finest mages are willing to pay any price.
Life, in the face of infinite unknowns, had little significance to begin with.
When the news of the lifting of the wizard system ban was announced, and it soon became accessible for browsing in the Fearless Space channel by paying contribution points, the entire Natural Selection Front entered a state of exhilaration.
They had gained a greater measure of control over their destiny.
“It’s just that I don’t know when our warships will be able to fly again, to cross that wall,” Roger said.
Roger emerged from the Myriad Races Hall, gazing at the seemingly unchanged azure sky, and sighed softly.
He always felt a strong sense of urgency. The time for development was bought with the Empress of Eternal Night’s sacrifice; any slackening would be a betrayal of her wishes.
But sometimes it wasn’t that they wanted to slacken; it was that faced with the current environment, there was no clear direction forward.
They had to wait until their research into the Negative Magic Element deepened before they could fully upgrade industries. And in any field of advancement, no matter how much investment or manpower was poured in, it would still take time.
It could be accelerated, but not infinitely. Frankenstein had warned him that blindly accumulating numbers was meaningless.
So, even with the resources of thousands of planes at their disposal, being unable to utilize them was a form of helplessness.
The only sure path they knew now was to encourage all races to have more children while resources were sufficient, so that when the war reignited, there would be enough intelligent variables to explore the correct path.
Admittedly, in the environment of the Negative Magic Element, there was a radiation-like effect, greatly increasing the rate of infant deformities. Avoidance techniques were still being researched, but the matter of breeding the next generation had to proceed to drown the gods once more in the ocean of people’s war.
On the other side of the Bifrost, the God of Knowledge, having entrusted the management of the clergy territories and the encirclement of the Dawn Army to the other three gods, moved the entire dimensional rift to the other side of the Bifrost. In the Empress of Eternal Night’s universe, he engaged in an eternal war with her, the passage of time unknown.
