"But the root cause of the persistently high mortality rate among trial participants is not entirely related to the formula itself."
"Rather, it lies in... this world and the magical power that sorcerers rely on."
"Magic and some herbal components have unpredictable and malignant interactions, which greatly enhances the instability of the mutation process and the destructive power on the trial taker's body."
Hearing the conclusion that "magic itself is problematic," Hen's brows immediately furrowed, and an unprecedented seriousness appeared on his face.
But this gravity lasted only a moment before he managed to suppress it well.
He did not immediately refute or question Karl, because deep inside, seeds of doubt had already been sown.
Over the years, the deeper he studied the essence of magic, the more he experienced an indescribable confusion.
Where does magic come from? The simple explanation of energy brought by the "Conjunction of the Spheres" does not fully explain its chaotic, violent, and difficult-to-control nature.
It is like a wild horse not yet fully tamed – powerful, but ready to attack its rider at any moment.
Countless sorcerers have been killed by backlash when creating new spells, and the existing spell system has developed slowly...
All these signs of anomaly seemed to confirm Karl's judgment.
If... indeed, there is some kind of "problem" with magic itself...
Hen dared not think further; it would shake the entire sorcerer system and even the foundations of existing magical civilization.
Karl noticed the fleeting look of gravity on Hen's face.
He understood that this topic was too heavy and that now was not the time to delve deeper.
He changed the subject in time, his tone becoming relaxed: "Teacher, do you know anything about enchanting? I have a question: how to enchant weapons?"
"I have found that after equipping equipment with magical resistance, it not only resists ordinary attacks and spell damage, but can also interfere with and weaken the effects of spells to some extent."
"So, if I enchant equipment mixed with magic-blocking gold, will the enchantment effect become ineffective or greatly weakened due to the properties of the magic-blocking gold?"
And indeed, whenever specific, advanced problems with magic application were mentioned, Hen's attention immediately returned.
A flicker of interest appeared in his eyes, momentarily dispelling the anxieties about the nature of magic.
He was eager to explore Karl's question, which combined practicality and theory.
"Magic-blocking gold? The essence of enchantment is to permanently or semi-permanently affix and secure specific magical effects onto a carrier, making them part of its inherent attributes."
Hen instinctively stroked his chin; his fake beard was created by illusion, and a focused expression was on his face.
"And magic-blocking gold can indeed strongly reflect and dissolve incoming or stray magical power."
"But its influence on the already hardened and balanced material structure of the carrier is relatively weakened..."
They began to discuss the complex and professional topic of enchanting and the properties of magical resistance, as if the heavy topic concerning the essence of the world had never been mentioned before.
.........
The next day, the morning sunlight had just dispersed the mist.
Far from the inner perimeter of Terra, over a distant mountain range, Karl's figure quietly hovered.
Not far below is the entrance to the valley where Borch and his family live.
He raised his hand, golden light emanating from his fingertips, using his fingers as brushes to draw intricate lines in the void.
This is a special symbol formed by two intertwined, nested crosses with winding and meandering lines.
He was trying to cast a powerful spell – Arzu's Double Summoning Spell.
This spell was one of the legacies of knowledge he had obtained earlier from killing the Drowners.
Previously, he had only told Triss about the "Arzu's Thunderbolt" and "Arzu's Shield" spells.
However, because the Elder Speech used in this double summoning technique was too profound and obscure, he had not yet learned it.
By the way, Triss had tried to recite the Arzu's Thunderbolt spell yesterday.
That familiar syllable reminded him that he still had this secret summoning spell that he hadn't had time to practice.
Karl used his fingers to trace the last crossing line, forming a perfect and closed circuit.
In an instant: CRACKLE!! The void before him seemed torn apart by an invisible giant hand.
A massive, complexly structured hexagram array suddenly appeared with a piercing howl of magical power.
A dark, blood-red light flashed in the center of the array, so intense it even shot into the sky.
The faint white clouds above his head were stained with a spreading, alarming dark red color.
Immediately after, a chilling sound came from the depths of the hexagram formation.
It made a sharp squeal, like some kind of insect, mixed with countless rigid, rapid frictions and moving "clatters" of chained limbs.
The first thing to emerge from the array was the head of a giant insect-like creature, covered in a thick, pitch-black carapace.
Its shape somewhat resembled the magnified head of a centipede, with mouthparts lined with teeth, glinting coldly like sickles.
From a distance, its eyes seemed tiny, but Karl hovered before it and realized its entire body was less than a quarter of its size.
The look in its eyes made Karl's heart clench; it was filled with an almost overwhelming sense of brutality, bloodthirst, and desire for destruction.
The light of reason within it was so faint as to be almost negligible, as if it existed only for killing and destruction.
As the massive hexagram quickly descended, the full form of this giant creature was completely revealed to Karl.
It was a suffocatingly massive, multi-legged giant insect, its body like a small mountain assembled from countless ferocious carapace segments, gleaming with cold, metallic light.
At first glance, the densely packed, writhing sharp limbs on either side of its body numbered in the thousands.
Its entire curled body was even two sizes larger than the golden dragon Borch had transformed into.
A pair of huge compound eyes, glowing coldly red, stared at the tiny Karl hovering before it.
The giant insect had barely fully escaped the summoning array when its body, under the influence of gravity, crashed down from the sky.
BOOM! Like a meteor falling to earth, accompanied by deafening roars and violent earth-shaking events.
It smashed violently into the mountain below, instantly forming a crater dozens of meters in diameter.
Dust and smoke swirled like a tsunami, scattering debris.
However, this newly summoned giant beast seemed to have no regard whatsoever for the intentions of the summoner.