According to the records in the Wings of God scripture, humans are born into this world blessed, and each person only has one life. Once life ends, the soul will return to the Sea of Emptiness, waiting for the next cycle.
However, there are always exceptions.
A soul hovers on the edge of life and death, remembering its name as Karlus Nornheim. It remembers being a Magic Armor pilot and being betrayed in the final moments of battle. It remembers falling, plunging into the Sea of Emptiness, being consumed by white clouds, and dying.
But the fluttering from its heart motivates the lost soul, slowly waking it up.
When the warm sensation finally overcomes the coldness of death, the lost soul opens its eyes. Before it is an unfamiliar ceiling, immaculately clean and strangely comforting. As it moves its gaze, pure white walls come into view. Soft light seeps out from the walls and ceiling, illuminating the hexagonal room. The room is white, pure white, as clean as inorganic matter, as if it completely rejects the presence of any living being, a pure white space.
Breathing out gently, the soul murmurs its own name - Karlus Nornheim. In its memory, a field hospital or a medical ship does not resemble what it sees now. Where is the chaos, the running nurses and doctors, the cries and groans of the wounded? Instead, it is clean and peaceful, as if from a different world. Karlus realizes that it seems to still be alive, feeling the pulse of life within itself.
Attempting to lift its arm, slender white fingers appear in its vision. The delicate skin, as smooth as porcelain, is definitely not a man's hand, but rather that of a young girl. Whose hand is this? Karlus tries to move the fingers, and they obediently respond to its will.
Karlus suddenly realizes that the unfamiliar hand belongs to it.
"What the hell is happening to me?"
Sitting up abruptly, its nervous system responds to the commands from its brain. The unfamiliar body, driven by a strong will, struggles to leave its lying position, and the intense discoordination almost causes Karlus to lose balance. The lengths of its arms and legs have changed, making its previous way of walking extremely difficult. Even its height has undergone a drastic change. After barely managing to stabilize itself by holding onto the bed, Karlus lowers its gaze. The first thing it sees is a slightly protruding chest - small, but beautifully shaped. Looking further down, a violent shock almost causes it to lose consciousness - the symbol of a man is gone.
"What in the world is going on?" Karlus is utterly confused. "Is there a mirror?"
Before the words finish, a part of the floor rises, and liquid mercury forms a waist-high, large dressing mirror. Karlus looks at the reflection in the mirror, a 12-year-old girl stares back at her with a shocked expression. If one were to evaluate, the girl in the mirror is definitely a beautiful child, with well-proportioned features, golden colored eyes, and light brown hair emitting a platinum-like shine. In a few more years, this girl will certainly grow up to become a breathtaking beauty, right?
"I've become a beautiful girl!"
Karlus desperately tries to calm itself down, stumbling closer to the mirror, earnestly examining her appearance. She is truly a beautiful child, no, now she is a beautiful girl. Wait, what's up with the pointed ears hidden in her long hair? Do humans have ears shaped like that? A 25-year-old Magic Armor pilot suddenly transformed into a beautiful girl - this situation is just too absurd! This must all be an illusion! A nightmare! Thinking this, Karlus stumbles back to her original bed, preparing to go back to sleep.
At that moment, the door to the room opens, and a young woman with a serious presence enters.
She is a stunningly beautiful young woman, with her golden hair tied in a ponytail at the back of her head. The green robe she wears and the golden glasses on her face give her an unpredictable air of mystery. She approaches Karlus, who is still in shock, and waves her hand in the air, creating a few translucent holographic interfaces. Ancient and unfamiliar writing glimmers on them.
"All readings are normal, and the soul implantation seems fine," she closes the holographic interfaces, and leans down, using a tone like one would use to coax a small animal, asking, "Do you remember your name? Or anything else?"
"My name is Karlus Nornheim," Karlus answers. "I belong to the 113th Magic Armor Squadron of the Fort Hurricane Garrison, Third Army Area of the Federation, with the rank of Colonel."The beautiful woman fell into silence, and complex emotions appeared in her sapphire eyes.
"I am a man," Carlus added, "but can you explain to me why I have become like this?"
His question undoubtedly struck a heavy blow to the beautiful woman in front of him. She became completely limp, her shoulders trembling slightly, and let out a deep sigh.
"How did this happen..."
Carlus was now completely confused. Instead of continuing to ask the depressed beauty in front of him, she seemed more interested in finding some clothes to wear. Although the temperature in the room was moderate and not cold, he couldn't just stay naked, right? Although there were only women in the room now, it still felt very inappropriate.
"Um...miss." He cleared his throat, feeling that his voice sounded quite nice. "Can you give me some clothes?"
Time in the room seemed to freeze. The strange beautiful woman slowly stood up, patted her cheeks as if encouraging herself. In Carlus's eyes, that action was very cute.
"Well, since a mistake has occurred, it must be rectified. I must face reality and cannot escape. Master Carteros, please grant me strength. I have rallied...yes, I'm back!" After murmuring for a while, she elegantly crossed her arms, making her already magnificent peaks even more firm. "My name is Lucita Beta, and in the name of the Administrator, I declare from today onwards, your name is Uther."
"Uther? Haha..." Carlus couldn't help but be dumbfounded, but a strange voice rang in his mind (Command confirmation, individual name changed to Uther), and he tried to resist the voice, but what he actually said surprised even himself. "Are you kidding me? You can't just change someone's name. My name is Uther, remember that! Um...my name, Car-Uther? What's going on?"
"Subordinates must obey superiors' commands," explained the woman named Lucita with a smile. "I just used a little bit of Administrator authority. I simplified the pronunciation of your original name, taking into account the linguistic characteristics of your name as much as possible. But cute girls should have cute names, don't you think?"
"I'm a man!" Carlus shouted.
"From today onwards, you are a girl." Lucita said. "You will listen obediently."
(Data modification confirmation, gender set to female). The voice came again, and Carlus tried to resist, but what came out of her mouth was the opposite of what she wanted to say: "I am...a girl..."
And so, Carlus acquired a new name and identity, although she herself was not at all happy about it.
Wearing pajamas and slippers that clearly didn't fit, Uther stepped out of the white room. The clothes on her body were a bit ridiculous, but better than nothing. However, there was a chill in the emptiness below, as if something was missing. Could it be because she wasn't wearing underwear? The thought of having to wear girls' underwear in the future made Uther lose all strength. She contemplated her current situation. Firstly, it seemed that the beautiful woman named Lucita, who was walking ahead, could issue absolute commands that she couldn't resist. What was even more absurd was that even the attempt to resist internally was futile, as if her mind was being washed, forcibly replacing one concept with another.
What kind of power is this? Uther had no clue. Perhaps it was a good idea to confront that woman and make her confess by force. However, any hostility would be immediately stopped, as if something in her mind was hindering her thoughts and judgments, as if some kind of latent compulsory command.
It was truly terrifying.
Uther quickened her pace, with her slippers making a clattering sound on the immaculate corridor. The smooth obsidian floor reflected her and Lucita's figures. Although they had significant differences in appearance and physique, they exuded a sense of sisterhood. There seemed to be a connection between them that even surpassed blood ties. It felt like they had known each other for a very long time, very nostalgic.
Did I know her before? That's impossible, right? Uther started to search for the memories of Carlus Nornheim. Born in the slums, raised in an orphanage, at the age of nine, apprenticed to a disabled old man named Misha to learn swordsmanship and Magic Armor manipulation techniques. Joined the military at seventeen, and in the second year of the military, bid farewell to her virginity on the Red-light Street in Fort Hurricane. Since then, she had been in relationships with seven women, although they didn't end up getting married, she still remembered their appearances and names. What expression would they show if they saw her now? Continuing to recall, before joining the military, she had always stayed in public schools, welfare facilities similar to orphanages, where children over the age of ten were separated for education, with boys and girls in different classes, completely isolated. Going further back, memories before the age of three were hazy, with the only thing remembered being burning white buildings and bodies all around.The memories abruptly ceased, and Luchita's figure could not be found within them. Who exactly is Luchita Beta? Uther had no clue. She could only watch her beautiful figure walking away, her golden ponytail swaying with each step. For some reason, tears welled up in her eyes, and she finally understood that familiar and nostalgic feeling was a remnant memory in this body.
Uther halted her steps, gazing at her reflection on the obsidian floor. The melancholy beauty stared back at her, with her light brown hair cascading over her shoulders, revealing her pointed ears.
"Who are you really?" Uther asked, confused. But the reflection of the girl could offer no answers.
Luchita ceased her steps, turning to face Uther, who was lost in thoughts. She walked over, gently stroked Uther's head with her hand. A warm feeling welled up in Uther's heart, and she could no longer hold back the tears in her eyes. She didn't even know why she was crying, but the tears kept streaming down.
"It's strange... so strange," she wiped away her tears, "Why am I crying?"
"From today, you will be my apprentice," Luchita lightly kissed Uther's forehead, "I will teach you, protect you, and train you to become a qualified magician."
Something melted in Uther's heart, but her human instincts told her that the words just now were dangerous, very dangerous! The sweet taste that even her soul couldn't resist would undoubtedly turn into a deadly poison.
Fort Hurricane's harbor area, the old warehouse.
Clang! A bottle rolled out from a dim corner, and a rat quickly disappeared into the shadows of the wall. These sneaky rodents always seemed to be parasitic around humans, from spaceships to cities, they were almost everywhere. If anyone benefited the most from human civilization, it was undoubtedly rats and cockroaches. And these two things were now dominating this drafty old warehouse.
Rusty machinery occupied about half of the warehouse's space. On the crane in the middle, the dismantled Spirit Seed Furnace emitted the smell of oil. Barrels of highly concentrated Magic Element were placed nearby, the liquid Magic Element exuding a faint fluorescence. This Magical Essence, which was freely extracted from the Sea of Emptiness, had various uses, but even the slightest carelessness would turn them into a deadly poison that could claim human lives.
The owner of the warehouse lay on the bed in the attic. The bedding emitted a pungent smell mixed with the scent of mold and oil, forming a mysterious miasma that drove people away. However, the guy on the bed paid no attention to the purple haze permeating beside him as he turned over. Looking at the photo frame on the bedside, in the slightly mildewy photo, a beautiful golden-haired woman was smiling.
"Eileen..." he reached out towards the photo frame but couldn't quite touch it.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Someone knocked heavily on the door.
The owner of the warehouse casually opened the door, not caring whether the person entering was a friend or a robber. After all, he had nothing left to lose, so it didn't matter. The person who entered was a middle-aged man wearing the uniform of the Empire Army. His bald head resembled an egg, and his developed muscles filled out the uniform.
"Hadley... Captain?"
"Oh my god, what is that smell? Is this purple thing miasma?" Hadley ignored Lin's question and strode into the warehouse. His shiny boots accidentally crushed a liquor bottle. "Lin, is this how you live? The neighbors around here think you're making chemical weapons."
"I don't care how I live," Lin sat on a stool, his dirty shirt draped over his shoulders. "Haven't seen you in a few days, and you're already wearing the Empire's military uniform? Did you defect to the enemy or something?"
"A few days?!" Hadley sighed. "It's been almost a year since the ceasefire. Fort Hurricane and the surrounding Floating Islands are already under Empire's control. The Empire allowed the Federation to have a planned retreat and even take away whatever they wanted. But as a local, I couldn't leave. Thankfully, thanks to Her Highness the Princess, I managed to obtain various supplies from the Empire, and Fort Hurricane and the Floating Islands have finally regained their former vitality."
"The policy of reconciliation, huh?" Lin chuckled bitterly. "Wasn't Her Highness the Princess only good at fighting? When did she learn how to win hearts and minds?""She wasn't like this before," Hadley sat down beside Lin and said, "The Princess used to be seen as a skilled strategist with brilliant tactics, but now she has become a ruler."
"Is Fort Hurricane Floating Island her domain now?"
"It was announced six months ago, didn't you know? How long has it been since you left?"
"I couldn't care less about such matters," Lin sighed, "That war took everything from me, everyone is gone. Irene, Calyus... and many of my friends, they are all gone. The Empire is my enemy, nothing more. But why did you come to see me today? Colonel of the Empire army."
Silence fell in the room as Hadley bowed his head.
"I have a job opportunity to introduce to you," he slowly raised his head, "Lin, you are the top mechanic, the Empire needs talents like you..."
"That's enough," Lin interrupted, "I said the Empire is my enemy, I will not serve them."
Hadley looked at him and sighed, "I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize, Hadley," Lin staggered to his feet, "Everyone has their own way of survival, and I have chosen the worst. You can leave now, I just want to stay here." He muttered in a voice that only he could hear, "That's fine, let me rot away here."
Hadley stood up and quietly left the warehouse. As Lin watched his silhouette vanish in the sunlight outside the door, he sighed deeply and took a few sips from the bottle on the table, coughing due to drinking too fast.
"That's fine," he muttered to himself, "That's fine..."
A rat crawled out from under an old canvas, its round eyes staring at the owner of the warehouse. It seemed to sense something and quickly scurried into a pile of discarded parts nearby.
Three months had passed since waking up.
Uther lay lazily on the table, supported by the luxurious table under her chin. The black table surface was carved from a single piece of wood, with a shiny lacquered finish that reflected a natural aura. Since the second day of waking up, she had been exploring this huge building, a massive structure of countless corridors and rooms that far exceeded her understanding. Was this really built by humans?
Looking out of the window, the walls formed by huge storm clouds flickered with lightning. Below the cloud wall, a ring of remnants of a broken wall floated in the air, and the remaining foundations suggested that these walls once stood on the ground but had now risen into the sky along with the building. This structure was called Eve's Garden, its construction time unknown. Many automaton dolls made during the Ancient Demon Kingdom era were responsible for most of the maintenance and cleaning work, and they had been functioning for a thousand years without any signs of damage. The ancient technology was truly remarkable!
Overall, Eve's Garden had an architectural layout more similar to a school or a mansion. Between the remnants of the outer wall and the main hall was a garden, but unfortunately, perhaps due to the high concentration of Magic Element, the plants in the garden had turned into fossils long ago. Among the petrified trees, Uther found her own Magic Armor. Her command-type owl lay sideways on the ground, with a big hole in its left chest and the cockpit in a mess, filled with dried blood.
Judging from the amount of bleeding, the pilot couldn't possibly still be alive.
Every few days, Uther would go to see her armor and try to repair the Spirit Seed Furnace. Although the left mechanical arm and part of the chestplate were missing, the shells seemed to have passed through without exploding. This was thanks to the safety fuse that had set the minimum detonation distance. Otherwise, she would have been blown to pieces.
After three months of effort, Uther finally repaired the Spirit Seed Furnace and couldn't wait to test the operating system. Apart from missing an arm, the rest of the armor was relatively intact and operational. However, the balance of the chassis was disrupted by the missing arm, making it somewhat difficult to operate. Uther moved her Magic Armor to the warehouse in the annex, attempting further repairs but temporarily giving up due to a lack of parts.During this period of time, Lucita had been observing Uther's actions without interfering, instead providing her with a lot of help, for which Uther was extremely grateful. She was always one to show gratitude, and her personality had hardly changed, except for the fact that she had to wear girls' clothes every day and follow various protocols. Uther would be even more grateful to Lucita if it weren't for those things.
"Uther, how is your Glaem repair coming along?"
One day, Lucita suddenly asked this question, and Uther didn't know how to answer for a moment because she didn't know the meaning of the word "Glaem."
"Glaem?" Uther looked puzzled. "What's that?"
"Huh?" This time it was Lucita who was surprised. "Aren't you repairing it every day?"
"Well..." Uther pondered for a moment, finally understanding. "Ma'am, if you're referring to my Magic Armor, unfortunately, I can't proceed with further repairs due to missing parts."
"Such a pity," Lucita closed her book with a snap, "But, Uther..." Her expression suddenly turned terrifying. "Didn't I tell you repeatedly to address me as Lady Sister?"
"Yes, Lady Sister..." Although reluctant in her heart, Uther couldn't resist Lucita's will. She forced a smile, lowered her head, and apologized, and Lucita took the opportunity to gently pat her head.
"Good job, very obedient."
A maid-type automaton wearing a white mask brought in tea and pastries. The freshly baked cookies emitted an enticing aroma, making one's mouth water. When Uther picked up the second cookie, she noticed that Lucita's expression seemed off. The usual gentle smile was missing, replaced by a troubled look.
"What's wrong, L... Lady Sister?"
"Uther, there's something I think I need to tell you."
"What is it?"
"It's about you."
Guided by Lucita, Uther boarded the central elevator of the main mansion. She often took this elevator, which made it very convenient to travel between the first and seventh floors. But this time, Lucita's expression became serious as she placed her hand on the control panel and whispered, "Authentication: Lucita β, activate the underground third floor."
It was the first time Uther had heard that Yggdrasil had an underground section.
"Authentication complete. Welcome, Mage Marshal."
The elevator began to descend, and Uther anxiously watched the brass pointer above the automatic doors. The pointer was leaning to the left instead of the usual right. After a few minutes, the elevator stopped its descent, and the metal doors made a ding sound before opening to the left side. Before her eyes was a pure white corridor, similar to the room where Uther first woke up. She suddenly realized that she hadn't returned to that room in the three months since then.
Footsteps echoed in the quiet corridor. Soft light radiated from the ceiling and walls, but there were no obvious light sources, as if the entire corridor was glowing. Lucita walked ahead, her golden ponytail swaying behind her green cloak. She was already a tall and beautiful woman, but the high heels increased her height even more. Uther estimated that she was over 175 centimeters tall, while Uther herself only reached Lucita's chest. From any perspective, she still looked like a child, especially her small chest, the difference was almost despairing.
Why should I care about such things? Uther shouted in her mind, but just then, Lucita opened a sealed door. As the door opened to both sides, Uther saw a cylindrical cultivation tank in front of her. It was a mysterious mechanical device that used ancient magical technology, with several holographic panels floating in the air around the control panel. The cylindrical tank was filled with a pale green liquid, and when Uther saw what was floating inside, her legs went weak and she knelt on the ground.
Floating in the pale green liquid was the body of a male. The body was wearing the uniform of a Federation military pilot, but the left side was incomplete, with broken ribs poking out and the left arm long gone, leaving only scattered muscle tissue floating in the liquid. And on that face, Uther was all too familiar with it. No one in this world knew him better than she did. Calius Noinheim, that was the name of the body, or rather, Uther's original name.
How does it feel to see your own body like this?Uther was left shocked and lost in her heart. Although she had a vague sense that her former self might have died while repairing the Magic Armor, seeing her own dead body still had a huge impact on her.
"Uther..." Lucita said apologetically, "I'm sorry for not telling you the truth."
"What am I now..." Uther looked at Lucita, "Can you tell me, what am I exactly? What is going on?"
"Sadly, you were already dead when you drifted near the Garden of Eve," Lucita tried to explain, "At that time, Greym, who was on guard nearby, found you and brought you back. And I... happened to need a soul at that time. So without your permission, I transferred your soul to your current body. I'm sorry, Uther, I was too weak. The loneliness of a thousand years is unimaginable for humans. I... I'm sorry."
After speaking, Lucita turned and ran out of the room.
Wiping away her tears, Uther took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. She sat down with her legs crossed, pressing her hands against her knees. If Lucita saw her sitting posture now, she would surely frown, but there was only Uther in the laboratory now. Her own body floated in the huge cultivation tank in front of her, and when Uther gently touched the transparent glass shell, she could only feel the coldness. Ah, I'm already dead. She pressed her forehead against the glass, and the body behind the glass still had its eyes closed tightly. Humans who have ended their lives are nothing but corpses, without exception.
Uther spent the afternoon digging a grave in a corner of the petrified garden. She instructed the two maid automata to carry her own body and put it into the grave. She tried to recite a eulogy, but halfway through, she forgot the rest. She conducted her own funeral and messed it up. Uther sighed and ordered the maids to fill the grave with soil. At least her former self could have a makeshift grave, something only the rich usually had the privilege of.
After completing the simple funeral, Uther returned to the main mansion, only to find Lucita waiting for her in the hall.
"I'm sorry..." Lucita apologized with her head down.
"No need to apologize, my lady." Uther gently hugged her, "At least I'm still alive, in whatever form, and you are still my savior."
"Is it really okay?" Lucita asked timidly, "To let you stay by my side."
"I have already died once, and there is no place for me in the world I came from," Uther smiled calmly, "Please allow me to stay here."
Just as she buried her own body, Uther resolved to bury the past.
The Garden of Eve became her true home.
Starting a business is difficult, but maintaining it is even harder. The Floating Islands that she had conquered now became her territory, and also the forward base of the Empire fleet. Just watching the warships coming and going every day was enough to make one dizzy. The war against the Federation was still ongoing, only shifting from large-scale fleet battles to prolonged harassment, weakening the enemy's strength before launching a massive attack to annihilate them. This was a rigorous and correct strategy, but it took a lot of time. The strategic plan that might show results in ten or even twenty years was indeed too long.
However, for herself who formulated this strategy, there was no reason to complain. Felicia leaned back in her chair as her long hair slipped off her shoulders. The mountains of documents piled in front of her were all matters that the Lord needed to handle. After being relieved of her command over the fleet in the aftermath of the war, she found herself struggling with the documents.
Perhaps hiring a staff team was a good idea. But since she had been on the battlefield since the age of thirteen, she didn't have the financial means or the connections. Although she achieved remarkable military exploits, as the youngest princess with her mother's red hair and without influential supporters in the heart of the Empire, perhaps the Emperor sent her to the frontlines to let her fend for herself. She sighed deeply and pushed the completed documents aside, replacing them with the unfinished ones. They were running out of ink as well.
Several powerful princes were engaged in a fierce battle for the throne in the center. It seemed that Emperor Carlos III had no intention of naming a crown prince. According to the Empire's tradition, letting the princes fight each other and leaving behind the cruelest and most capable survivor was the correct choice. The iron and blood Empire did not need an incompetent Emperor. To ensure the quality of the Emperor, the treacherous court became a place of poison, where anything from betrayal, civil war to regicide was allowed. Only the most ruthless and capable heir could ascend to the throne.Being exiled may be a good thing, but at least a few secretaries should be hired.
The staff in the General Staff Department are obviously unsuitable for handling various miscellaneous affairs. Their duties are to handle various military affairs, for which they have received specialized education and training. However, when it comes to local departments, these experienced staff members are all rendered useless. Although Felicia has a high reputation in the military, she doesn't have suitable subordinates to help her with the lord's miscellaneous tasks. Fleet Commander Meckler is a cunning person, and the secretaries he recommended may be talented, but they cannot be trusted. Felicia has already witnessed the brutality of political struggles in her childhood and knows well that someone like Meckler, who is two-faced, cannot be a trusted confidant. The current mayor of Fort Hurricane, Dengral, is even less trustworthy. He is a corrupt politician, and the secretaries he sent are all spies.
However, besides that, Felicia has no one to turn to for help.
Just the placement and reorganization of the surrendered Federation soldiers took three months. Felicia is now facing various problems that she has never dealt with in the military. Debt disputes, taxation, legal affairs... all kinds of difficult problems are plaguing her. Although she was already somewhat aware when she became the lord, it is now clear that it is far from enough.
Squeak, someone knocked on the door.
Felicia weakly uttered two words, "Come in."
The two secretaries of the City Hall brought piles of documents. The stack of documents on the desk, which had just been reduced, returned to its original state, or even more. Felicia suppressed the urge to pull out her gun and watched the two apologetic secretaries leave. Then, with a thud, she collapsed onto the desk.
"It's no longer possible..." she muttered.
Then the stack of documents toppled over, burying her underneath.
The central library of the Eve's Garden is located at the core of the entire building, with a huge collection of books consisting of 666 shelves organized in a neat arrangement through floating spells. Similarly, familiar spirits using levitation magic fly in the air, maintaining the thousands of books. Some of the books are even preserved through time-stopping spells, and the pages will not decay no matter how many years have passed.
Six colored orbs floated in the air, representing the four elements, light and darkness. Uther, dressed in a black dress with a white collar, sat behind a large desk and listened to Ruxita's lecture. Perhaps due to her own funeral, their relationship has become closer, and Ruxita suddenly had the strange goal of turning Uther into a mage and started implementing it the next day.
"Spells are the primary means of combat for mages and can be roughly divided into nine tiers," Ruxita pushed up her glasses. "The spell is the basis of constructing a spell. Specific spells are combined from the construction stage to the activation stage, and each step requires careful coordination. However, Uther doesn't need all of these."
Ruxita explained the composition of spells like a teacher, while Uther, as a student, felt like she was listening to something impossible to understand. Due to a lack of basic knowledge, she shouldn't have been able to comprehend the fundamental concepts of magic, but somehow, certain fragments in her mind were connected and gradually became understandable.
"Why don't I need to construct spells?" Uther asked. "Generally, to draw magic from the Dyrak Sea, one must rely on spell construction. Through the gravity effect generated by soul resonance, energy from another world is drawn and formed into spells. However, spells alone are not powerful. It is dangerous not to arrange the spell construction."
"Uther, you're amazing."
"I read books when I'm bored."
"Let's get back on track," Ruxita coughed. "Uther, you don't need complicated spell construction because you possess inherent magic."
A new concept emerged, and Uther quickly took notes.
"Inherent magic, simply put, is a pre-written system of spells," Ruxita snapped her fingers, and a barrier appeared in front of Uther. "It skips the construction process and only requires activation. It can be the name of a spell or a simple action. Through complex arrangements, multiple activations can even be launched at the same time, directly solving the problem of mages being able to construct only one spell at a time, and even the chanting of spells is omitted." She smiled slightly. "Let's demonstrate."
Ruxita took a few steps back and slowly raised her right hand, "Tear of the Moon Goddess."The green light gathered in her hand, forming a wand that was fundamentally different from the wands used by circus magicians that Uther had seen before. It was not made of spirit wood or any other material that had excellent affinity with magic, but rather had a metallic structure. At the top of the wand were not gems like crystals that enhanced magic power, but a mechanical structure composed of gears and brass ornaments.
This weapon was called a Magic Machina Staff - that was its official name.
"Infuse with magic power," Lucita lightly tapped the ground with the staff, creating ripples of magic power beneath her feet. "Activate inherent magic #176, #248, #339. Start simultaneously."
Multiple defensive barriers instantly deployed, and not just one layer. Uther carefully observed and discovered that there were not only barriers to defend against magical attacks, but also barriers with strong resistance against physical attacks. The multiple barriers formed an impenetrable defensive web, creating an impregnable fortress. At the same time, Lucita activated the second, third, and fourth magic formulas and maintained them in an active state. This performance, which was almost god-like, could only be achieved by a top-class mage.
"I present the covenant document," Lucita continued to draw glowing incantations in the air. "Activate inherent magic #481, #563, #771, continuous overwrite!"
Countless light swords emerged in the space behind her, with enchanted dark attributes on their blades, enhancing their physical attack sharpness. Uther couldn't help but swallow saliva, as being pierced by such light swords would certainly be fatal.
"Deactivate all magic formulas," Lucita lightly tapped the ground with the staff, and the barriers and attacking magic formulas around her immediately dissipated, turning into particles of light that returned to the void.
"Lu... no, Lady Lucita," Uther raised his hand, "it seems like you didn't completely give up on the composition of magic formulas just now. Why did you use incantations in the middle?"
"Oh no, I've been found out," Lucita suddenly looked disappointed, "I didn't expect Uther to be so clever and notice. Actually, I used the incantations as the activation formula halfway through, using them to guide the continuous activation of inherent magic formulas. It's not the inherent magic I possess, but a certain level of processing applied to inherent magic. In any case, Magecraft is a profound science. As long as you have strong spiritual power and sufficient imagination, anything is possible."
"Resurrection... can it be done?"
"Unfortunately," Lucita shook her head, "only that cannot be done."
Uther felt a pang of disappointment, but quickly cheered up, "Please teach me more in the future, Master."
"Call me Master...," Lucita covered her blushing face and looked bashful, "I feel a bit embarrassed, but it also feels great."
"Oh, right, Master," Uther suddenly remembered something, "what is spiritual power?"
"Spiritual power...," Lucita looked surprised, "haven't you been reading books all this time?"
"I can understand magic power, as it is the most important for Magic Armor pilots," Uther said, "but this concept of spiritual power is the first time I've heard of it... I can't comprehend it."
"In specific terms, it refers to the capacity in the spiritual domain," Lucita pushed her glasses up, "in the concept of mages, it is necessary for spell calculations, and everyone has it. However, spiritual power needs to be trained. While Uther has immense and astonishingly powerful magic power, your spiritual power is at an average level. If your spiritual domain is wide enough, you can even directly activate magic from the incantation level without consciously constructing spells. But this requires long-term training, and I believe Uther can master it."
"I see," Uther nodded, "I understand now."
After answering Uther's question, Lucita continued with her lecture. The two of them didn't notice that snowflakes quietly fell from the sky, announcing the arrival of winter.
It snowed all night, and the next morning, the scenery of Eve's Garden underwent a drastic change. The stone garden, covered in snow, turned into a vast expanse of white. The industrious automaton dolls began to clear the snow in the yard before their masters woke up, creating a bustling scene of busyness.
Even though the Sea of Emptiness covered the land, the weather remained unchanged. The true clouds floated high in the sky, beyond the reach of hovercraft and magic armor. Inorganic rain and snow could break through the Sea of Emptiness and fall to the ground, as if the magical element held hostility only towards living creatures.The afternoon's independent practice began after the snow had completely stopped. Uther stood in the empty space of the courtyard, holding the apprentice staff that Luthita had prepared for her in her hands. It was a very beautiful wand made of magical wood, with a green gem embedded at the top, exquisitely crafted. At first glance, it seemed like a valuable enchanted artifact, but Luthita said that the Mage Academy used to prepare one of these wands for each apprentice who enrolled, and they were free. Uther couldn't help but sigh at the advanced ancient magic technology and the wealth of the academy.
However, that was all a thousand years ago. Now, the once-prosperous Ancient Demon Kingdom had sunk into the Sea of Emptiness, forever gone. The humans who escaped to the sky with fragments of ancient magical technology were barely hanging on for dear life.
Let's begin the practice!
Uther took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. This was her first time independently casting a magic spell, so one can only imagine how nervous she was. But as long as she recalled Luthita's wonderful demonstration, she was filled with an eager desire to try it herself.
"First, infuse mana." Uther infused mana into the staff, similar to infusing mana into the Spirit Seed Furnace of the Magic Armor. However, her arm did not have an engraved magical circuit, so how was the mana directed and flowed? In the end, she decided not to dwell on these details and moved on to the next step, starting her incantation: "I offer this contract letter, flying thunder, swift as the wind, incarnate as a sharp blade, the thunder spear is what I desire!"
A thunder spear wrapped in lightning appeared behind her, and Uther locked onto her target ahead, a large boulder serving as a target. She then shot the spear. However, due to her inadequate spiritual domain processing ability during the incantation, she wasted too much mana, resulting in a significant decrease in the power of the constructed spell. Consequently, although the thunder spear hit the target, it only formed a crack on the surface of the stone, with very low power.
"Ah, although it was successful, it feels different from what I imagined." Uther dejectedly lowered her shoulders, but suddenly a flash of inspiration came to her mind. "Activate, intrinsic spell No. 489, continuous duplication!"
Authentication granted, Uther successfully cast the fifth-tier intrinsic magic, and luminous spears kept generating behind her. They were semi-materialized spirits condensed from mana, possessing stronger killing power than real spears. Spears continued to generate, quickly surpassing hundreds.
"Stop duplication, lock onto the target," Uther pointed her staff at a distant target, "Thunder spear, fire!"
Hundreds of spears were simultaneously shot and almost all hit the bullseye of the target. However, what happened next took Uther by surprise. The shockwaves generated by the continuous firing not only crushed the target, but also blew up the surrounding ground. When the smoke cleared, a large pit appeared in the corner of the courtyard. Looking at her "masterpiece," Uther regretfully covered her forehead and crouched down.
"I messed up... I hope Sister Luthita didn't see that."
Uther didn't notice that behind the window of the second-floor study, Luthita was looking at her with an odd expression. She gently moved the curtains with her hand and tried to gather mana, but the magical circuit appearing on her arm was in a broken and miserable state, rendering her mana unable to flow.
"Uther, you're a true genius," Luthita murmured to herself, "not a counterfeit like me, who was 'manufactured'."
