Inside Lynn's laboratory at the fortress.
At this moment, within the tranquil laboratory, a massive flowerbed stood silently at the very center.
The flowerbed was filled with blue-white permafrost, and atop this frozen soil stood a lush, vibrant, and towering tree, exuding a faint aura of transcendence.
This tree was none other than Lynn's extraordinary plant Yfgríd!
Its trunk was incomparably thick, with a faint glow subtly rippling across its surface. Numerous intertwined roots dug deep into the permafrost, greedily absorbing the mysterious energy within, like voracious tendrils.
Lynn stood before the tree, narrowing his eyes slightly as his spiritual power slowly extended, establishing a deep connection with Yfgríd.
"Being able to slow down Yfgríd… This environment indeed has a special effect on plants…"
"But… it does not provide any additional nutrients…"
Lynn's spiritual fluctuations briefly paused as he sensed something unusual.
"Strange… when I control Yfgríd, there's a 'delay'?"
Even though his consciousness had already issued a command, Yfgríd's reaction was subtly slowed, as if something was dragging it back this slight lag caught Lynn's attention.
"If this is merely a delay in my perception, then…"
Lynn took a deep breath, his mind racing as he murmured:
"What if I completely merge with Yfgríd? What would happen then?"
Would his thoughts slow down?
Would he experience a kind of "time displacement" with the outside world?
With these thoughts flashing through his mind, Lynn did not hesitate any longer. He slowly spoke, his voice low and resolute:
"Shared Life and Death!"
Buzz!
The First-level Spell: Shared Life and Death activated!
At that moment, Lynn's body trembled slightly. He stepped forward, merging seamlessly into Yfgríd's trunk!
Like a drop of water returning to the ocean, his form quickly turned translucent, enveloped in a radiant glow, and then he vanished entirely from the laboratory.
Silence.
The laboratory remained eerily still, illuminated only by flickering light. The very air seemed frozen in time.
On a wooden experiment table in the distance, an array of peculiar magical instruments lay neatly arranged.
But at this moment, the laboratory was empty.
Only a single, quiet, extraordinary tree stood rooted in the permafrost like an ancient lifeform forgotten by time.
On the wall, an old-fashioned clock ticked away, its hands moving ever so slowly.
Tick…
Tock…
Time flowed by in quiet solitude.
No one knew how long had passed.
Suddenly, a soft glow emerged from the surface of Yfgríd's trunk, as though a mysterious energy was stirring within.
Buzz!
A faint, blurred silhouette gradually appeared.
Then, Lynn's figure stepped out from the tree trunk, returning to the laboratory.
His gaze was slightly dazed as if still immersed in some strange state.
"I feel… like my thoughts have slowed down…"
Lynn raised his hand, sensing the changes in his body, and muttered under his breath.
From his perception, he had spent fifteen minutes inside Yfgríd's consciousness world.
But when he looked up at the clock on the wall, his pupils suddenly shrank!
Watching the steadily rotating hour and minute hands, his expression shifted subtly.
He had spent fifteen minutes inside but in the laboratory, one hundred and fifty minutes had passed!
A tenfold difference in time!
Lynn's heartbeat quickened slightly, his mind rapidly analyzing the implications.
He had just stumbled upon something truly astonishing.
"From an external perspective, a plant within the permafrost… will have its lifespan extended tenfold!"
His eyes gleamed as he carefully recalled his experience.
"But… this extension is only from an outsider's view."
Lynn's gaze sharpened as he contemplated the profound implications of this time displacement.
"A plant with a lifespan of only one hundred years… would survive for one thousand years in the permafrost."
"But this is merely how time appears to flow externally."
In reality, from the plant's perspective, its life experience remained one hundred years unchanged.
It would not feel as if it had lived a single day longer.
Instead, time itself had been slowed, making it appear as though it had endured for a millennium.
"This is the true wonder of permafrost…"
Lynn had now personally experienced the bizarre properties of the frozen soil.
For mechanical mages, this might not mean much.
But for him… this could be an invaluable resource, something nature mages would undoubtedly covet!
His eyes glowed with inspiration as a daring idea took root in his mind.
"What if I completely merge with Yfgríd… and then live within the permafrost?"
His fists clenched slightly, his heart pounding with excitement.
As a first-level wizard, his natural lifespan was at most two hundred years.
"But if my time is slowed tenfold in the permafrost…"
The outside world would experience two thousand years, while he would only perceive two hundred!
In the world of wizards, lifespan was one of the ultimate pursuits of transcendence.
Even though the permafrost did not truly increase his lifespan, it could still extend his existence in the world tenfold allowing him to endure through the ages!
More importantly…
"This is not an extension of lifespan, but a distortion of time itself!"
"My mind, my senses… will still experience only two hundred years of life. But the outside world will have long since transformed beyond recognition!"
What did this mean?
It meant that during this extended period of existence, he might have the chance to discover breakthroughs new longevity techniques, or even…
One day, he might live long enough to witness the emergence of a method to completely shatter the limits of lifespan!
Lynn's eyes burned with anticipation.
"But… achieving such a miraculous effect must surely consume vast amounts of the permafrost's energy…"
He lowered his head to examine the changes in the permafrost.
Sure enough, some parts of the originally blue-white permafrost had turned pale and lifeless, losing that eerie cold luster.
This was caused by energy consumption!
Lynn pondered as he picked up a pinch of the pale permafrost and gently rubbed it between his fingertips, feeling the remnants of a unique rhythm that once existed but had now completely dissipated.
"As expected, permafrost is not inexhaustible. Its 'time displacement' ability relies on a special kind of energy."
Even so, its value remained immeasurable!
Lynn's gaze sharpened.
"For mechanical wizards, permafrost might not be significant."
"But for nature wizards... this thing is an absolute rarity!"
If he were to bring permafrost to the gathering places of nature wizards, those high-ranking wizards nearing the end of their lifespans would undoubtedly go mad over it!
Even if it couldn't truly extend their lives, merely being able to survive in the outside world for thousands more years would be enough to tempt them!
Moreover, during those extra thousand years, their friends, disciples, families, and even the entire wizarding world
Might discover a true method of life extension, allowing them to break free from the shackles of death once and for all!
"If I could mass-sell this permafrost to the nature wizard world..."
Lynn stroked his chin, a smile playing on his lips.
"Priceless?"
"No..."
"To those wizards, this thing… is a 'second life'!"
At that moment, he fully understood why wizards waged wars across different worlds, opened up new realms, and explored the unknown.
Every new world was an undiscovered treasure trove. Every undeveloped land could hold miracles capable of changing a wizard's fate.
Just like Lynn, who had now uncovered the true significance of permafrost.
It was a resource that transcended life and death, a gift of time, a second life!
Standing on a vast expanse of glowing blue permafrost, Lynn gently ran his hand over the shimmering ground beneath him, his gaze deep and contemplative.
"The consumption of permafrost… should be closely related to the level of the lifeform using it."
He murmured, his fingers tracing over a patch of lifeless, pale permafrost, sensing the faint energy remnants within.
"I and Yfgríd are both at the level of First Level Wizards. The resources we consume must be significantly greater than those of ordinary plants and trees…"
Taking a deep breath, his thoughts grew clearer.
If a regular plant could exist for a thousand years in permafrost with only an insignificant amount of energy
Then for him, a formal wizard, the energy expenditure must rise exponentially!
"Then what about Second Level, Third Level, or even higher-level beings?"
His mind raced as he continued analyzing the properties of permafrost.
"For lifeforms of immense power, ordinary permafrost might not be sufficient to sustain them…"
"What they need may be a more refined, higher-grade version of permafrost…"
Lynn narrowed his eyes, a newfound hunger igniting within him.
His desire for permafrost had now reached an all-time high!
For nature wizards, the value of this permafrost was beyond measure, and as a nature wizard himself, he was no exception!
He wished he could hoard every last bit of permafrost within his jurisdiction.
But that was unrealistic.
The resources of this fortress were mostly sent to the war bastions, where higher-ranked wizards decided their distribution.
However, that didn't mean he was powerless.
Because right now, he was on the battlefield and in battle, the greatest reward for warriors was merit.
With enough merit, most resources could be obtained.
Let alone permafrost, which mechanical wizards barely cared about.
Even rare and precious metal materials could be exchanged for merit!
"As long as I accumulate enough merit… I can monopolize this world's permafrost supply... After all, on the merit exchange list, its value is ridiculously low! I can take all the permafrost for myself!"
Lynn's eyes gleamed with a cold determination.
And there were only two ways to earn merit.
The first was to kill enemies from the Goddess' faction.
The second was to accomplish great deeds for the wizarding faction.
The simplest and most direct method was to kill enemies.
Each enemy had a different value depending on their status and strength, the merit they provided varied greatly!
Take the Starhunter spy he had killed before.
That man had an extremely special identity he was a First Level wizard within the Starhunter Society. If Lynn reported his kill, he would earn five merit points!
Five merit points are the equivalent of killing five ordinary first-level wizards!
But he didn't report it…
Because giving up those five points was for the sake of earning even more merit!
As for how to lure in more members of the Starhunter Society Lynn had his unique approach.
That was baiting them in himself!
Lynn planned to make himself the bait and hunt down the Starhunter Society's spies!
Starhunter spies were always cautious. Those who infiltrated the fortress and climbed into relatively important positions would never act recklessly and expose themselves!
For example, the spy Lynn had previously eliminated had been deeply hidden, never once making a move against the official wizards in the fortress.
Even though the spy frequently visited the permafrost resource zone, he never exposed himself always acting submissively and servilely toward the formal wizards.
Even the "Witchslayer Dagger," a signature weapon of Starhunter spies, remained pristine in that spy's hands, still containing all three of its assassination charges!
That was because those spies were waiting for an even more crucial mission before they acted and exposed themselves.
But Lynn was an anomaly he had forced that spy into revealing himself and attacking.
In the eyes of the Starhunter Society, he was a fat, juicy fish, an irresistible and tantalizing bait!
The reason?
It traced back to his time as a Third-Level Apprentice and the events within The Landscape.
"That Starhunter spy called me a Heretic… and honestly, he wasn't wrong. After all, I did consume Godblood Pills, which were made from divine blood!"
Lynn muttered to himself, recalling the Godblood Pills he had once ingested.
He remembered that when he exchanged the pills in The Landscape, their cost was relatively low because excessive consumption would leave a special mark.
This mark wasn't visible to the naked eye it was a deep-rooted spiritual imprint.
Anyone who followed the gods could sense it, and they would instinctively regard the marked individual as a "Heretic"!
Any being from a divine civilization who encountered him would immediately attack without hesitation!
That was the true reason the Starhunter spy lost control and exposed himself!
Upon encountering Lynn, he sensed the repulsive "Heretic's Mark" and lashed out on the spot!
Lynn was convinced that this mark's effect was far stronger than he had initially imagined!
In other words, he was the natural enemy of Starhunter spies!
As long as Starhunter spies detected his presence, they wouldn't be able to resist revealing themselves.
They wouldn't be able to resist attacking him, wouldn't be able to resist trying to erase this "Heretic" from existence!
At that moment, all Lynn had to do was eliminate those Starhunter spies and reap an immense amount of merit.
Lynn's eyes flickered with a deep light.
Since he was going to be bait, he might as well be the deadliest bait possible!
He would force all the hidden Starhunter spies to surface in one move earning a massive amount of merit in the process!
Of course, he wasn't arrogant enough to take on the entire Starhunter Society alone.
Starhunter spies varied in strength. While he was no weakling, if he encountered a Second Level, or worse, a Third Level wizard, he might struggle to survive alone.
So, he planned to call for reinforcements!
Lynn didn't know many people, but he knew enough. First, he reached out to the wizards overseeing his fortress.
Then, he contacted his close allies from the Eastern War Zone Martha, Gilru…
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