Chapter 496 - 360: Flower of Time, Pulp of Time, and Pit of Time

Chapter 496: Chapter 360: Flower of Time, Pulp of Time, and Pit of Time

Below the palace, as the ritual deep within the world began to manifest, Philo stopped what she was doing, looked up at the sky, and sighed silently.

’Is the difference really that great?’

"What is it, Lady Philo?" Seeing her suddenly stop, Gandalf, who was assisting her, asked in confusion.

As only a Tier Three, he couldn’t perceive the changes deep within the world like Isaac and the others could, so he was naturally baffled.

Philo fell silent for a moment, then sighed. Setting down her tools, she spoke to Gandalf with a hint of resignation. "There’s no need to continue the experiment here. The problem... has already been solved..."

"Solved?" At her words, Gandalf froze. An expression of disbelief crept onto his face. ’Just like that... it’s solved? But he only just came down, didn’t he?!’

To be honest, even if it wasn’t his place to think it, surrendering three years ago had been an absolutely correct decision. After all, setting aside the other two, Philo’s background was substantial. Though she had currently fallen on hard times, this paradoxically highlighted their own importance.

After all, helping those in need is always more valuable than currying favor with the successful.

Moreover, and more importantly, over the past three years, his horizons had been greatly broadened through his conversations with Philo. For a researcher, this was of the utmost importance!

And it was precisely because of this that he understood the difficulty of the task.

’Fusing with the Shadow of the Star God—it wasn’t as if no Star Mage in history had ever proposed it. But the main reason this line of thinking was never followed through was its immense difficulty. How could one capture a Shadow of the Star God that existed only in a visualized state? How could one maintain their sense of self amidst the chaotic Power of the Star God during the fusion? And, most importantly, what method should be used for the fusion? After it was complete, would one even be human anymore?’

These were just a few of the biggest problems with this research; the number of smaller, more trivial issues was even greater!

This was the true reason the Star Mages had been unable to advance further—not some problem with their Faith.

After all, while the population of the Little World wasn’t huge, it was still in the tens of millions. Stretch that over a long enough timeline, and the total number of people became quite considerable. With such a vast population, it was only natural for a few heretical Star Mages to emerge.

And Isaac?

He had solved this problem in just three years...

And for most of those three years, he had been conducting his experiments remotely from beyond the sky! Using second-, third-, or even fourth-hand data, he had managed to solve a problem that had plagued Star Mages for countless years...

"Don’t dwell on it." As she was about to leave the laboratory, Philo saw Gandalf still standing there in a daze. She sighed again and said, "Don’t compare yourself to him. Even in our world, that man’s talent is unrivaled. You’re already outstanding."

"Is... that so?"

Looking at Gandalf, who still hadn’t snapped out of it, Philo sighed. In him, she seemed to see a shadow of her own past...

But she said nothing more. ’I actually hold Gandalf in high regard. The path of a Wizard, unlike that of a Knight or an Arcanist, is less dependent on physical talent and more on one’s mind. Even if the Star Mage path limits him to Tier Four, he can still create immense value as a Tier Four Mage! That’s why, compared to the Black Knight who theoretically has a more limitless future, I am fonder of Gandalf. However, that might have to change now. Everything depends on whether Gandalf can recover from this massive blow. Otherwise, all of it is just wishful thinking. Of course, if he can pull through this, his value will become even greater! Because it would mean that both his perspective and his state of mind have been broadened in an extremely short period. But the prerequisite for any of that is his ability to pull through.’

Having had a similar experience, Philo knew very well that this was something he had to work through on his own. Outsiders couldn’t help much—at least, her relationship with Gandalf wasn’t that close.

Leaving the laboratory, Philo looked up at the sky. After a moment of silence, she sighed, then turned and walked toward the grand hall where the Black Knight was. The last trace of her defiance had just been lost. ’Now, it’s time to accept reality and focus all my energy on my own path.’

’Merging three types of the Power of Faith into one... if this path is successful, although it won’t be a Heroic achievement, its difficulty won’t be much less than one. At the very least, with proper allocation, it should be enough to elevate me to Tier Four Peak... right?’

Philo wasn’t very confident about this, but regrettably, she had no choice. ’My father the King is dead. It’s time for me to take up my responsibilities.’

And just like that, as the three of them each began to carry out their own plans, the Little World, which had only just begun to bustle with the opening of the World Wall, slowly sank back into silence.

However, this was only a superficial calm. In reality, although a three-year period had been agreed upon, the transfer of the population had officially started the moment the World Wall came down. Hope and fear for the New World and the new King constantly swirled in the minds of the world’s people.

These myriad emotions were amplified further by news of the Star Mage’s fusion ritual, and finally reached their zenith when a colossal tree, seemingly large enough to shatter the sky, emerged on the horizon!

Meanwhile, the one-year period was up, and all of Isaac’s gifts had been delivered. At this moment, however, he had no interest in examining the mysterious second gift. Instead, his expression was grave as he gazed at the colossal tree that looked as if it would tear the very heavens apart!