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"I'll gladly accept the complint," Lucian replied, taking Alfia's astonishnt in stride.
In truth, he could have just asked Alfia to inject her own Mind to fuel the spell. However, an individual's Mind naturally carried specific elental attributes, making it difficult to control. Alchemy was an exceptionally delicate process, so he needed a high-quality, ownerless 『Heavenly Treasure』 like the Spring of Life to serve as a neutral catalyst.
He could have also absorbed ambient mana directly, but once magic dissipated into mana, the quality of the collected energy wasn't guaranteed to be as high as its original form, given its scattered state. Of course, that only applied to dissipated mana. The water from the Spring of Life was essentially mana existing in a hyper-condensed, physical state. This wasn't ordinary water; it was the literal manifestation of life force born from compressed magical particles. Mind, magic, and mana—the reason these three could perfectly circulate and convert into one another internally was that they were fundantally different expressions of the exact sa energy. It was much like the wave-particle duality.
"It's done." Lucian waited as the pill fully stabilized.
The spell array was now perfectly encapsulated within the pill. The pristine white elixir looked beautifully crafted, hovering weightlessly an inch above Lucian's palm with a gentle wave of his hand.
"Next, I need to thoroughly examine your skills—a diagnosis, essentially. I have to pinpoint the exact origin of your abilities," Lucian said, turning to Alfia.
"Eh? Why didn't I have to go through this process?" teria asked curiously from the side.
"I simply sealed all of your skills entirely," Lucian replied.
Alfia's negative skills were technically categorized as buffing skills, albeit ones that inflicted severe debilitating side effects. Sealing them entirely would not only drastically reduce the duration of the seal but would also cripple her overall combat strength.
"How do you need to cooperate?" Alfia asked.
"I need to trace the source of your skills through your Falna," Lucian explained. "Which ans you need to expose your back, exactly like you would during a status update."
Alfia fell silent for a mont before nodding. "Fine."
It was a dical diagnosis. It couldn't be helped. It was perfectly normal for male gods to update the Falna of their female dependents, and vice versa. Although her patron deity was female and she had never experienced a male updating her status before, she wasn't overly prudish about it. As long as Lucian kept his hands to himself, it was fine.
Admittedly, Lucian's initial impression, combined with the ti they had spent together recently, had earned him a surprisingly high degree of trust from Alfia. Perhaps influenced by his uncompromising attitude during their first eting, she hadn't even bothered to issue any threats. In reality, her true personality was far more abrasive than she had shown him; her inherent coldness and venomous tongue usually made her incredibly difficult to deal with. But establishing a strong front had its perks—Alfia clearly didn't treat him with her usual disdain.
"But my Falna is currently locked, and I don't have an Unlocking Potion on . What do we do about that?" she asked.
"Don't worry about it—I'll bypass the lock," Lucian replied with a gentle smile.
Looking at his confident grin, Alfia was genuinely rendered speechless. A magic that sealed skills, an alchemy magic, and now a magic that could forcibly decrypt a god's Falna. If he wasn't lying, that ant he also possessed so form of precognitive or tracking magic. She severely doubted this was the extent of his arsenal. She suspected he possessed an incredibly versatile, multi-stage magic that could manifest various effects—much like a spell that simultaneously restored stamina and Mind, or one that simultaneously healed wounds and cured poison. Similar to Riveria, who could weave a single spell through three different stages to produce three distinct outcos.
Alfia's guess was actually quite accurate. It was just that Lefiya, the 『Thousand Elf』, hadn't made her debut yet, and Lucian's magic was far more absurd than Lefiya's summoning abilities. Thus, Alfia's hypothesis barely scratched the surface.
"Let take you two to a private room," Bheara offered, having overheard their conversation.
"I'd appreciate that," Lucian said.
"By the way, does this Witch suffer from a terminal illness just like my children?" Bheara suddenly asked. "And you, kid, you have a magic capable of sealing negative skills?"
"I do." Alfia nodded, instantly understanding what the goddess was getting at.
"If you can, please help my children," Bheara requested earnestly. "The Spring of Life can only alleviate the symptoms; the agonizing pain still remains."
"I can do that." Lucian agreed without hesitation. "But the seal is only temporary. I am a blacksmith, a mage, and a scholar of magic. Sooner or later, I will create a permanent cure. That was the promise I made from the very beginning."
Hearing Lucian's words, Alfia paused, her expression softening noticeably.
Just as I thought. He has strong principles.
The money she had paid him was intended both as an apology for Hera's rudeness and as a dical fee. In her mind, rely achieving a temporary seal was already a massive blessing. But Lucian's professional pride drove him a step further; he genuinely believed he had an obligation to cure the root cause. Her investnt was entirely worth it—not just for the treatnt, but for the chance to forge a connection with Lucian himself. She fundantally believed that once he fully matured, he would beco a figure of imnse importance. Perhaps, in the realm of magical research, he would beco a boundary-breaking existence akin to her own unparalleled combat talent.
He might even beco the second Sage. After all... he was simultaneously a blacksmith, a mage, and a scholar. That ant the non-combat magic he had displayed so far wasn't everything. He definitely harbored destructive offensive magic suitable for a heavy artillery mage. A true mage had to excel in magical bombardnt, and a one-trick pony didn't qualify for the title. Neither Bell nor Ais could ever truly be called mages.
"This room will do. I'll stand guard outside to ensure no one approaches," Bheara said, leading the two into a modest room.
Opening the door, they found the space slightly coated in dust. Just as Alfia was preparing to wipe down a chair, Lucian activated a spell.
"Wind~"
A miniature tornado materialized in his palm. It swept across the chair, the floorboards, and the bed, instantly vacuuming up every speck of dust in the room. This wasn't an abstract, conceptual spell; it was a strictly regulated chanism designed specifically to gather dust. Lucian tossed the tornado out the window. Severed from its mana supply, it imdiately dissipated. Alfia's sharp senses picked up on the fact that the mont the magic dispersed back into raw mana, Lucian seamlessly reabsorbed it into his body.
Witnessing this, Alfia couldn't even bring herself to be surprised anymore. His raw power might not be overwhelming yet, but his sheer versatility was terrifying.
"Let's begin," Lucian announced.
"Mhm." Alfia gave a soft hum of acknowledgnt and sat down on the chair.
She reached up to her chest, delicately untying her ribbon and unfastening her buttons. Her clothing slowly parted, eventually slipping off her shoulders. Her flawless, pale back was exposed to Lucian's gaze, illuminated beautifully by the sunlight streaming through the window.
"Release."
Lucian's palm swept through the air just inches above her bare skin. A soft luminescence cascaded downward, causing the divine script of her Falna to manifest clearly across her back. He didn't freeze up or stare blankly at her exposed back. While she was undeniably stunning, it would be a massive exaggeration to say he was completely stunned into inaction. After all, Alfia wasn't a Goddess of Beauty; she didn't possess an inherent aura that passively warped the minds of n. He wasn't in heat, and he had a job to do, so his focus remained sharp.
Thanks to his frequent usage of Focus Magic, his baseline concentration levels had drastically improved even in his neutral state.
. . .
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