Chapter 543 - 218: What a Domineering Contract (2)

’Two million gold pounds? Forget amassing Undead Creatures, with that much money you could probably forge a Legendary-rank Extraordinary, couldn’t you?’

’And yet, the current reality is that a Legendary-rank modified Undead Creature is still a far cry from a Legendary-rank Extraordinary...’

Of course, that wasn’t to say such modified Undead Creatures had no merits.

At the very least, a modified Undead Creature was a cut above its unmodified counterpart. It was also designed to handle various combat environments, enhancing its adaptability.

However, its greatest advantage was that an Undead Creature modified with materials from a Great Mage could be contracted by a Great Mage.

To put it vividly, it was like a level-sixty-nine character wielding a level-one-hundred-forty weapon with no level requirement. It was actually a significant boost to an Undead Mage’s combat power.

’Well, it’s just not something the average Wizard could afford...’

Having read this far, Wei’en put away the research reports.

He had already determined that the useful parts of the materials provided by the specter were the knowledge on the physical structures of various Undead Creatures and the notes on fusion modification.

As for those so-called "outstanding" research papers published by the school... it was better not to read them at all.

He didn’t want his thinking to be constrained by the research directions of his predecessors.

After quickly skimming through all the information, Wei’en kept only four scrolls of notes on Undead modification that he found useful.

It was worth noting that he had also glanced at the research reports on mechanical modification, which made up a very small portion of the material.

’How should I put this...’

’If the Undead modification reports were limited, then those few papers on the mechanical modification of Undead Creatures could be classified as pure garbage.’

’Their conclusion was to install a few powerful pieces of mechanical equipment on an Undead Creature and call it a fusion modification?’

"If it’s that simple, what’s there to research? Couldn’t you just buy weapons from the Mechanical School and equip the Undead Creatures with them?"

"Sigh, from this alone, it’s clear the specter’s years of research haven’t produced anything particularly groundbreaking."

Wei’en pursed his lips, glanced at the time on the grandfather clock, and frowned slightly.

Nearly four hours had passed, and the little Messenger still hadn’t returned. ’Is there a problem over at the Spiritual Mystery School?’

’Were the conditions I proposed... really that unreasonable?’

...

...

"...Professor, is this really alright?"

Olifuna looked at Professor Nasimir Melo, who usually had an easygoing demeanor but now wore a troubled and vexed expression. She couldn’t help but smile bitterly. "According to His Excellency Faceless’s demand, the value of a single defect in a Magic Rune is equivalent to one hundred thousand gold pounds..."

"Just do as I say. This is also the Chief’s will."

Nasimir’s lips were pressed into a thin line, accentuating the two deep lines that framed his mouth. Paired with the blue Wizard Robe he wore, his entire person seemed exceptionally stern.

"It’s not hard to tell from the Faceless Mage’s reply that his research into Magic Runes is incredibly deep. At the very least, I wouldn’t dare promise to find no more than four defects in a single rune."

At this, Nasimir took a deep breath. "Half a day has passed since you brought this news back last night. From what I know, sixteen Magic Runes have already been found to have the same defects. Do you know what that means?"

"It means the vast majority of our Magic Runes are flawed..." Olifuna’s face turned pale, and she murmured, "But if we fix those defects, it also means the overall strength of our Spiritual Mystery School will rise to a new level..."

"Exactly. Just by resolving two defects, the power of our Magic has increased by nearly ten percent! Now do you understand why the Chief agreed to his conditions?"

"I understand, but..."

Nasimir raised his hand, cutting her off. "I know you’re upset about the cost. In fact, most of those who know are dissatisfied with the Chief’s decision. For one, the fate divination system is the core legacy of our Spiritual Secret. For another, they believe they can find the defects in the Magic Runes themselves and don’t need help from an outsider."

"But finding defects and resolving them both take time! The truth is, we don’t have much time left!"

"Huh?" Olifuna looked at him in surprise. "Why do you say that?"

"This is for your ears only. Remember not to spread it," Nasimir said with a solemn expression. "This morning, Chief Ragnar used fate divination to see how this matter would affect our Spiritual Mystery School. But the result..."

"The result was very bad! No, to be precise, the results of several divinations all indicated that our Spiritual Mystery School will suffer a devastating blow!"

"A d-devastating blow?!"

"I wish it weren’t true, but Chief Ragnar’s expression at the time..."

Nasimir recalled the look of despair and panic on Chief Ragnar’s face in the conference room just after he had cast the fate-guiding Magic...

He found it hard to believe that a Wizard whose power already surpassed the Legendary rank would show such an expression.

"Professor, I don’t understand. Does someone who can deal our Spiritual Mystery School a devastating blow truly exist in this world? Who could it be?"

"The Chief didn’t specify, only mentioning the results of the divination."

Nasimir recalled, "Surrounded by blood and ash, chaos descends, the tower falls—this is the sounding of the death knell!"

"Blood... chaos... death knell..." Olifuna’s expression changed drastically. She suddenly remembered a prophecy that had recently and quietly appeared in the Wizard World. "Professor, is the death knell from the divination related to that ’The Death Knell has Come’?"

"Chief Ragnar and the few Legendary Mages who specialize in the fate divination system believe so as well."