The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Chapter 777: Chapter 0774: Learning Makes Me Super Happy (Fifth Update, Alliance Hierarch Additional Update 13/66)
 

Although the atmosphere left something to be desired, the Marquis of Bull Tail finally had his own Magical Beast mount, and it was a Super Magical Beast.

In terms of results, it was a success.

Therefore, in the following days, Li Weiliam simply stayed at Thorn Castle, spending every day bonding with the Obsidian Stymphalian Bird, the Black Albatross.

Liszt naturally wouldn’t accompany Li Weiliam every day, as he had a plethora of matters to attend to. Nami had already been rushed to Yidao Mangrove Forest by Ach to complete the Smoke Mission soon; the Crystal Firmiana had been transported to the Crystal Workshop, where Brad and others continuously carved various Crystal Utensils.

Although glassware could replace most Crystal Utensils, Magic Equipment made of crystal remained an indispensable part of life for the Nobles.

The cultivation of the Crystal Firmiana was still being patiently studied by the Magicians of the Magic Guild, striving to cultivate a Crystal Firmiana that could grow without the help of Dragon Magic Power.

The improvement of Magic Platform 2.0 was overseen by Chris Truth; during usage, Magic Platform 2.0 still revealed problems like its lack of precision, cumbersome communication processes, and a tendency to malfunction. Thus, the improvement work of the Magic Platform was destined to require a great deal of effort, and it wouldn’t be an easy fix.

In fact, Liszt had plans to involve other Grand Magicians in the improvement of the Magic Platform.

However, the Grand Magicians were still engrossed in the research of Natural Magic. Druid transformation magic was restricted by the blood of the Child of the Sun, and couldn’t be performed. But the deciphering of other magic plant cultivation like Magic Bean Planting, Magic Wheat Planting, Magic Melon Planting, Magic Lotus Root Planting, Magic Eggplant Planting, Magic Pepper Planting, Magic Ginseng Planting, Magic Pear Planting, Magic Sunflower Planting, Transforming Tree Planting, and Magic Tangerine Planting was already complete.

Liszt specially approved a trial field for the Magic Guild to use for the planting of these Magic Power plants, which although growing slowly, were all developing steadily.

Pairing the scientific farming techniques of the territory with these Natural Druid Magic practices, in a few years or even a decade, truly miraculous plant fruits could be harvested.

What concerned Liszt the most these days was actually the agitation of the Rubber Bug triplets.

Ever since the completion of the Smoke Mission to find the Three Islands, the Rubber Bugs had slowly begun to grow agitated, not as violently as when the Cordyceps were nurturing, but it was a synchronized agitation among the triplets. And today, after casting the Tri-Phase Force once and restoring the Rubber Trees in the rubber garden, the agitation had peaked.

Subsequently, under Liszt’s Eye of Magic, the Magic Power of the Rubber Bug triplets began to change, slowly settling and expanding outward, gradually causing the triplets to swell.

Visible to the naked eye, the Rubber Bug triplets had entered the Fat Pupa Stage.

Their progression into the Fat Pupa Stage was much faster than the individual Elf Bugs, especially with the Magic Power of the three Rubber Bugs reflecting off one another like the tremors when releasing the Tri-Phase Force, continuously promoting the development of each other’s Fat Pupa Stages. The changes in Magic Power became faster and faster, displaying the details of the Elf Bug’s evolution into a Minor Elf at fast-forward speed in Liszt’s eyes.

“So the agitation of the Rubber Bug triplets means they are all about to evolve into Little Minor Elves… but the most miraculous part about the triplets is that they have shown me the secret of evolution,” Liszt said.

Liszt called over the returning Ach to participate in the evolution of the Rubber Bug triplets.

Unfortunately, Ach could only rely on the Magic Web to sense the Magic Power changes and was unable to visually discern the precise trajectory of the Magic Power changes—no matter how detailed Liszt’s descriptions, they still couldn’t reproduce the subtleties of the actual changes.

“Ach,” Liszt said, “according to my observations, the biggest change during the Fat Pupa Stage of an Elf Bug can actually be described as ‘boiling water.’ The Magic Power is continuously heated, until eventually it reaches a boiling state, which is the process of an Elf Bug transforming into a Little Minor Elf… But during this process, Magic Power constantly dissipates, affecting whether the ‘water’ can ultimately boil.”

Liszt became more and more excited as he spoke, “A normal Elf Bug’s evolution loses Magic Power and vitality during the Fat Pupa Stage, and if too much is lost, it becomes difficult to ‘boil,’ leading to a failed evolution. However, because the Rubber Bug triplets influence each other and accelerate the process, they shorten the boiling duration, losing very little vitality and Magic Power, which significantly increases the chances of successful evolution!”

Ach concentrated on sensing, trying to understand his words.

And during the conversation, the three Rubber Bug siblings, now enlarged, fattened, and darkened, gradually quieted down, lying motionless inside the box.

Liszt, however, knew that the magical changes inside them were still ongoing; they were merely accumulating their final strength, “This process might last three to five days, which is far less draining than the half-month or even month-long fat pupa stage of normal Elf Bugs.”

“So what you’re saying, brother, is that if we can artificially accelerate this process, Elf Bug breakthroughs will no longer fail?”

“Failures are still possible, but artificially accelerating the fat pupa stage will definitely greatly increase the likelihood of success. I think this is a very good research direction.”

“But Ach still doesn’t understand the ‘boiling water’ process that brother mentioned.” Ach felt a bit disheartened.

Liszt rubbed her azure hair, “Not understanding is okay, just observe slowly. Knowing this direction is enough, don’t try to bite off more than you can chew… Haven’t you noticed? Since becoming an Archmage, you’ve devoted too much energy to magic experiments. That’s not good.”

“Why is that?” Ach asked.

“The Ach I first met was an innocent, lovely Sea Serpent who loved to sing, not a Magician who’s hopelessly obsessed with magic experiments.” Liszt reminisced about the times in the Worm Room, where he played the piano while Ach sang, feeling suddenly emotional, “Do you remember Iris?”

“The Conch Siren.”

“Right, actually, I feel Iris is like a true Sea Serpent, living in the sea, climbing onto the rocks to sing with the moonrise, or listening to the shouts of sailors passing by on ships. That’s a kind of freedom belonging to the sea, but you, Ach, have been locked in the ‘search for truth’ cage by magic.”

Saying this, Liszt himself also became somber, although not a Magician, but isn’t he too locked in a “search for truth” cage masquerading as scientific research of magic.@@novelbin@@

This life has so many joys worth pursuing, and one should not plunge headfirst into the truth.

Truth is too vast, too distant, too immense; impossible to fully explore in a lifetime. Without a joyful mindset, one will inevitably fall into the distorted paranoia that plagues many Magicians, without even realizing it.

However, Ach retorted, “Brother, Ach doesn’t feel unhappy now, though. Researching magic is very joyful. The life of someone like Iris is like a Sea Monster, full of ignorance.”

Liszt, who had been immersed in his self-created atmosphere of “lack of freedom,” felt a bit embarrassed at the remark: “Er…”

It was like when a poor student complained that studying made life constrictive, claiming a loss of freedom, equating happiness with living as a zombie.

Then a top student suddenly chimes in: “Studying makes me super happy.”

If the person was not Ach, Liszt would have certainly walked away in mid-conversation, disinterested in pursuing such a topic any further. No one could speak such words in front of him so casually!

But it was Ach, the underage little Sea Serpent, speaking earnestly, truly finding joy in the study of magic.

After a pause.

Liszt quickly dispelled his awkwardness, speaking out loud, “No matter what, from now on we must make time every day, to play the piano, to sing songs.”