"Great! Great! Great!" Felix said three times, even clapped his hands on the side.
He had a sharp eye. From Kael Silverlight and Aedrion's fight, he saw a lot. He got so excited that he ran to Kael, looked him up and down, and said, "The way to rise with the potion is right. This is a path no one has ever taken before."
He was excited, happy, even had tears in his red eyes.
Kael Silverlight felt a bit nervous, but he didn't say anything. Even his heart wasn't excited at all.
Dude, you probably don't know I only have one day left to live.
Felix muttered, "This potion gave you a big improvement in your body, and it also improved your fighting sense. It probably made your mental power stronger too. Most importantly, your body didn't change in a bad way."
Kael Silverlight thought for a moment. He looked at the big man in the ragged clothes and the man in white robes.
They used clothes to show their rank, but there was an even clearer difference. The Powerbearers in ragged clothes had less bloodshot eyes, like they hadn't slept for two days. The white-robed men had more bloodshot eyes. As for the red-robed man, his eyes were completely red. His face was hidden in the hood, and you couldn't even tell if he was a human.
Maybe that's the side effect from the red-robed man trying to mix the potion and using them as test subjects?
If that's true, you have to say Felix is a real cold-blooded guy. He was clearly the one at the front of all of them.
"I finally succeeded," Felix said, raising his hands. His voice was rough, but it had a light tone to it.
Kael Silverlight asked the question in his mind: "You can use magic. Why do you still want to create a new..." Uh... honestly, he didn't know how to describe it. He paused and continued: "...new way of training."
Felix calmed down. After a long time, he said: "Magic can't take us into the supernatural anymore. Only a new path can help us become gods again. And you, you are our hope."
"???" Kael Silverlight looked confused. He asked, "Why? Can't magic make you a god anymore?"
Felix looked strange and asked, "Are you really a student from the Lower Arcane Academy?"
Kael Silverlight felt embarrassed and laughed awkwardly. "My Apprentice Mage Certification hasn't even been passed yet."
In the Kingdom of Rien Dall, you could pay to go to the Lower Arcane Academy and learn magic. After passing the Apprentice Mage Certification, you could go to the Upper Arcane Academy. After passing another exam, you would get the Mage Certification and become a Novice Mage. Then, after more study and exams, you could become an Intermediate Mage, an Advanced Mage, a Master Mage, a Grand Master Mage, and so on.
Now, Kael hadn't even passed his Apprentice Mage Certification. That said a lot about his talent.
Felix frowned and muttered, "Someone who can't even pass the Apprentice Mage Certification can actually read the Ancient Tongue?"
Thankfully, he didn't dwell on the question. Instead, he said, "You just need to know that magic did shine for thousands of years, but this era has completely changed. The path of mages is no longer working."
"Why?" Kael Silverlight asked.
He realized he might have just stepped into the deep end of this world.
Felix didn't explain. Instead, he asked, "You took classes at the Lower Arcane Academy. You should know something about magic history. Let me ask you, when was the last time a god appeared?"
"Three thousand years ago, the Grand Master Mage Raphael became a god by understanding the ultimate secret of the earth," Kael Silverlight answered immediately. He knew that part of history pretty well.
Felix laughed lightly, "Did you figure it out?"
Kael Silverlight frowned.
Felix didn't answer right away. Instead, he acted like a patient professor, saying, "You have to look at it from the perspective of time."
After a while, Kael's eyes lit up. He smacked his palm and said, "I get it now."
He walked back and forth, speaking quickly. "Since the connection between the divine realm and the world below was cut off, Augustus worked hard to build the Arcadia Empire. From then on, the magic world began. Almost every three hundred years, a deity appeared. The Arcadia Empire ruled for three thousand years, and during that time, dozens of deities were born. Then the empire went to war and split into more than twenty kingdoms. The Kingdom of Rien Dall was one of them. Since the Arcadia Empire disappeared, the appearance of deities dropped a lot. Before, a deity would appear every three hundred years, but later it was every five hundred, eight hundred, even a thousand years. Until the last deity appeared three thousand years ago, and that was the end of the magic world."
Felix clapped his hands and said sincerely, "That's really good. You're smarter than my people."
Elton had been really into it, but now he got called out. He felt really jealous inside.
Fuck.
You know, Kael Silverlight is just a sacrifice, right?
"But I still don't get why we have to choose a new path?" Kael Silverlight's biggest question was still unanswered. "Even if I can't become a god, becoming a Grand Master Mage would still give me 800 years of life."
800 years of life is already considered supernatural. It's almost the same as immortality.
Felix laughed coldly and explained directly to Kael Silverlight: "That's because you don't know the secret."
Kael's heart jumped. Well, there's someone stronger here!
"To move from Master Mage to Grand Master Mage, you have to turn your body into elements. That means you have to connect with the world, become part of the universe. That's why Grand Master Mages can cast spells without chanting or waiting. But now, becoming a god is harder than ever. Even turning your body into elements is harder now," Felix said, his voice full of sadness.
Kael suddenly felt cold out of nowhere.
Felix added, "I can tell you honestly, if we don't change things, it'll be almost impossible for any mage to get to the Grand Master level."
Kael got it. If the path was blocked, people had to find other ways. After all, moving a tree can kill it, but moving a person can save it. Would a mage really want to die stuck at the Master level?
Who wouldn't want to go higher?
"Oh, I see," Kael nodded. Now he finally understood. That's why Felix used such strong magic, but still kept changing things.
In any kingdom, any mage is the most precious treasure. If the red-robed man wanted, he wouldn't be living like this.
"So, stick with me. You're really talented. I'll take you even further down the Path to God," Felix suddenly got excited and grabbed Kael's hand.
Kael smiled awkwardly and pulled his hand back without being obvious. Then he thought again and took a sharp breath. "Are you a Master Mage?"
"Not too slow," Felix said, his voice rough and proud. "And I've already turned half my body into elements."
Holy shit.
Kael was shocked. He didn't expect the man in front of him to be almost a Grand Master Mage.
After all, in the Rien Dall kingdom, there were only twelve registered Grand Master Mages. Even Grand Master Mages numbered only a hundred or so. Their status was all top-level.
It was like a dream.
In Slagtown, a mid-level mage was someone the mayor couldn't mess with. But now, Kael was facing a mage who was almost at the Grand Master level.
For a moment, Kael stayed silent.
Fuck.
If he still had a long life, he would definitely follow this red-robed man and make something of himself. But now, with little time left, following him would probably be pointless.
He had to find a way to increase his lifespan.
Felix smiled in his eyes, knowing how big of an impact a person close to being a Grand Master had on this small-town guy. So he didn't ask more and said, "You guys take care of Kael. I'm going to take the potion. Once I'm done, we'll move out. This place is no longer safe."
"Yes." The white-robed men all replied.
Felix turned around, waved his hand, and took the alchemy equipment and extra potion ingredients with him, then disappeared into the shadows.
Elton followed closely, and gave a quick glance to the others.