Chapter 479 - 352: False Wizard (2)

Chapter 479: Chapter 352: False Wizard (2)

Once the World Wall was down, never mind these Tier Threes—even if all the Tier Fours in this world attacked at once, they wouldn’t be a match for the Chief alone!

Besides, it was possible they would have to cooperate later, so it wouldn’t do to sour the relationship.

So, Agares merely glanced at the white-hot battlefield before stealthily slipping to the enemy’s rear and starting to knock the Star Mages unconscious.

Before they even knew what was happening, he was gone with his captives.

Agares hadn’t captured many people. For one thing, it wasn’t necessary. They didn’t intend to fully cultivate the Star Mage path; their goal was merely to summarize the characteristics and general nature of the Star Mages’ power and collect some data. For another, taking too many people would hinder their mobility.

Although they currently seemed to have the upper hand, that was only because the enemy’s powerful individuals were scattered. Only three had been able to reach this location on short notice. If they won the battle or it turned into a stalemate, stronger forces would inevitably converge on this position.

When that happened, they would likely have to flee. And if they had too many of these data samples, they would be faced with the dilemma of whether to take them along or leave them behind.

So, rather than face that choice later, it was better to capture fewer now. As long as they had enough samples, it would be fine.

He had captured twenty people in total—a number that was hardly significant compared to the size of the opposing Wizard Order.

In fact, by the time Agares returned to the temporary base with the Wizards, the enemy had only just realized their comrades were missing.

"So soon?"

"We got lucky. They’d all been deployed."

Hearing this, Soron nodded and turned his gaze to the Star Mages lying in a heap on the ground. His floating Demon Eye flashed with green light. One of the captives, a Tier Two Peak Star Mage, unconsciously opened his mouth as a white, misty substance drifted out from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

Agares, standing to the side, looked on in surprise. He recognized the white mist for what it was—Soul Particles.

They were the most fundamental unit known to compose the soul—a discovery of rather limited use.

Although it sounded—and indeed was—quite advanced, it hadn’t contributed much to the existing Soul Magic system.

The reason was simple: Soul Magic was inherently difficult to cultivate. In the past, both Legendary Mages and Arcanists had relied almost entirely on intuition and talent, making for very slow progress.

While the discovery of Soul Particles had theoretically shed some light on this dim path, it was only a flicker. For one, observing Soul Particles was incredibly difficult. Even now, Wizards could only do so through the use of Magic. As for actually manipulating Soul Particles to any degree...

Wizards below Tier Four had to rely on the aid of instruments or large-scale, stationary rituals. The process was also incredibly time-consuming, making it suitable only for research, not for combat.

The immense difficulty, coupled with the fact that there weren’t many Soul System Wizards to begin with, meant that few people even knew about this concept. And the lack of researchers meant the number of associated Wizards remained low...

It was a vicious cycle.

Agares himself had only learned about it to enhance his Life-Burning Magic, and he knew all too well how difficult it was to control!

And yet, Soron had just effortlessly extracted the Soul Particles from another living being and was using them to read memories!

This was the most malevolent of all Soul Magic—Soul Search!

But while the category and effect were the same, Soron’s version was far more difficult. Not only were the memories he extracted more complete, but there were also far fewer side effects. Compared to the original Soul Search, which often left its victims as drooling idiots, Soron’s memory reading would, at worst, only cause a few days of mental fatigue.

’The power of the Demon Eye?’ Agares wondered, watching the strange light that flickered in Soron’s eye.

He wasn’t particularly envious, though. By now, the Demon Eye held few secrets for Wizards. In fact, if he had wanted one, he could have acquired it for himself back when he was a Grand Wizard—and not just an ordinary one, either.

It was simply unnecessary. A Demon Eye was merely a type of easily cast Magic, and there were plenty of alternative methods to achieve the same effects.

Of course, this only applied to ordinary Demon Eyes, such as the relatively simple and direct Shaping Demon Eye, Force Field Demon Eye, and Stasis Demon Eye. Wizards had many ways to achieve similar effects without having to physically modify their bodies.

As for High Level Demon Eyes—like Soron’s, the Chief’s legendary Demon Eye that could borrow power from an Evil God, or the Dominator’s Eye that had once been his own backup option—while their abilities were powerful, they all came with considerable costs and side effects.

Soron’s side effects were unknown, but the Chief’s were easy enough to guess. Evil Gods were not to be trifled with. It was just that their Chief happened to be an exceptional Mad Witch and was particularly resourceful in such matters.

So, while he felt a hint of envy for Soron’s Demon Eye, it was only a fleeting one. Agares was quite clear about the path he would take for himself.

Soon, the misty white Soul Particles flowed back into the captive’s body, signaling the end of Soron’s memory reading.

A Magic Book floated out from Soron’s body, shimmering with the light of Magic Power. In an instant, the cultivation path for Star Mages from Tier One to Tier Two materialized upon its pages. The Magic Book then drifted over to Agares.

Agares nodded, took the Magic Book, and put it away. He then turned and left to prepare for the battle outside.

He could also study the power of the Star Mages, but that would have to wait until the situation outside had stabilized. His primary mission was still to protect Soron.

After Agares left, several goblins came forward to imprison the Star Mages, injecting them with a potion to improve their "sleep quality."

Soron glanced up at the Goblin Tree, which was continuously spawning goblins, then shook his head. He paid it no more mind, turning his attention instead to the memories he had just extracted.

When research hits a dead end, changing direction for a while is a good choice. It doesn’t matter if the new research has little value or offers no help to one’s own power system.

Because all Knowledge will one day be useful. Who knew? Perhaps at some point in the future, research that seemed useless today could become a crucial foundation.

This was a valuable lesson Soron had learned from Isaac.

Besides, researching the Star Mages’ power system was a task Isaac had given him, so it was already a high priority.

As Soron immersed himself in his research, the sounds of battle gradually faded from his hearing. He walked over to a temporarily conjured stone table and stool, took out a blank Magic Book, and began to write down the Star Mages’ cultivation methods.

Unlike the direct transcription from before, this time Soron added some of his own thoughts as he wrote.

Thus, a moment later, when Soron finished writing, he had gained a general understanding of the Star Mages’ power.

Overall, it was much as his master had previously speculated. It was a Casting Profession, but not what one would consider a Wizard.

The most fundamental difference was that Wizards—whether they were Legendary Mages, Arcanists, or Witches—drew their Casting Ability from within themselves. They possessed a relatively fine control over Magic Power and could cast Magic independently.

"Casting Professions," however, was a much broader concept, referring generally to any Extraordinary Power that could use Magic, such as Magic Net Mages and Secret Mages.

The Star Mages were in a similar situation, though they were a cut above Magic Net Mages and Secret Mages. While their Casting depended on an Existence known as the Shadow of the Star God and they couldn’t generate their own Magic Power, they possessed an internal organ capable of storing it, which made them somewhat superior to Magic Net Mages.

Because of this, they had decent control over Magic Power. And although their Casting still relied on the so-called Shadow of the Star God, they, like Magic Net Mages, possessed the ability to research Magic. They could improve and create new Magic, making them much stronger than Secret Mages.

They were even far stronger than the Magic Net Mages of the Real World. After all, they had managed to research the concept of Law!

One could say that, compared to true Wizards, the only things they lacked were the ability to cast independently and the ability to generate their own Magic Power. Unfortunately, the smallest deviation can lead one miles astray. These two seemingly minor points were what ultimately halted their progress at Tier Three, rendering them unable to advance even a single step further.

In fact, based on this brief study, Soron suspected they couldn’t truly advance to Tier Three at all.