Chapter 249: Dark Demon Great Fusion (3k)
Prior to this, Dark had already sensed that Pandora Senior’s childhood experiences were far from smooth, but he hadn’t expected them to be so fraught with difficulties.
As the name suggests, the Exile Forest was a place for exiling criminals.
Although it had been abandoned after the war, the existence of the Exile Forest wasn’t completely forgotten.
However, that area was indeed cursed, which is why no one dared to approach.
It was truly fortunate for Pandora Senior to survive her time in the Exile Forest.
As for why she grew up there…
Dark didn’t want to delve deeper into it.
During wartime, the order was chaotic, and those sent to the Exile Forest weren’t all criminals.
A significant portion were people who had “crimes” yet couldn’t be punished.
Another part consisted of innocent families, even those with fabricated charges.
Furthermore, given Pandora Senior’s age, she should have been sent in shortly after birth.
Since Principal Altair had taken her out, it spoke volumes about the situation.
…
Dark took a deep breath, trying to keep his expression from revealing anything.
On Christmas Eve, he never imagined that Pandora Senior leaving school was actually to visit a gravesite.
Christmas was meant to be a family reunion, yet she could only mourn the departed.
…
“Don’t look like that.”
Pandora Senior suddenly chuckled.
“I’m not that fragile. And…,” she said, raising her index finger to her lips and shaking her head slightly, “I can’t say more, I need to keep it a secret.”
Dark was bewildered, but his face relaxed visibly.
He said, “Senior, now that you’re back…”
Pandora smiled, “Fusion, right? Can we do it tomorrow afternoon at two?”
Dark immediately lit up, “Of course.”
Then they chatted a bit more about trivial matters.
When he heard that Dark had successfully joined the Dueling Club, Pandora slapped her forehead and sighed, “I forgot all about that, congratulations.”
Dark replied, “It doesn’t sound very sincere.”
“After all, it wasn’t difficult.” Pandora laughed and stood up, “Alright, I still have some things to do tonight, so I’ll head back. See you tomorrow.”
Dark waved his hand, “See you tomorrow.”
Watching Pandora Senior’s silhouette gradually disappear at the entrance of the阅览室, Dark suddenly realized, “Was Pandora Senior specifically looking for me?”
But then he thought, “No, she must have just glanced over when she came to find Miss Bella. She couldn’t have foreseen me being here.”
…
Dark rested his chin on his hand, analyzing rationally.
Yet he didn’t notice that Wit, who was also in the阅览室, had been watching him for a long time.
Wit had been peeking since Pandora entered, trying not to be noticed by avoiding direct eye contact.
The pen tip hovering above the paper hadn’t moved in a while.
Opposite him, Robert was like a sponge, absorbing knowledge voraciously—despite the limited amount available in the books.
But he gradually became engrossed, not noticing Wit’s pause.
He had never thought he would have such a thirst for knowledge.
But it felt good.
…
The next morning.
To prepare for the experiment in the afternoon, Dark went to Traveler’s Street early. It took him a long time to gather three sets of “fusion” materials.
He had been studying “fusion” for a long time, and this was the moment to verify his results!
Before two o’clock.
Dark brought the materials, notebook, and the lab key, arriving at the library early.
Pandora Senior was chatting happily with Miss Bella. When she saw him at the door, she lowered her head and said a few words to Bella before coming around the counter.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
They exchanged a smile, understanding everything without words.
But once inside the lab, the relaxed atmosphere suddenly tightened.
Experimentation began!
…
Dark had experienced failure once before and didn’t expect today’s “fusion” attempt to succeed.
“Fusion” mana cards were inherently filled with uncertain factors, as was the refining process.
Even if everything seemed perfect, numerous unpredictable elements often emerged during actual practice.
Luck played a significant role in the “fusion” process.
Through repeated experiments and refinements, success could be achieved.
“First, let’s check the spell.”
Pandora Senior flipped through Dark’s notebook quickly.
Dark’s analysis of various issues was detailed, making it hard to tell it was a first-year student’s notebook.
Especially in the writing of the “spell,” it seemed even more refined than before.
But merely appearing improved wasn’t enough.
Throughout the experiment, Pandora Senior only provided guidance at critical moments; the rest was done by Dark himself.
It took about half an hour for Dark to complete the detection of the “fusion” spell and made micro-adjustments based on the metrics, finally obtaining a spell perfectly suited to his current state.
Then he began the formal refinement!
The essence of “fusion” was using two or more mana elves as core materials to create a new mana elf on-site.
Unlike the actual creation of a mana elf, this process was temporary, reversible, and unstable.
This method could avoid many complex problems.
Using a “fusion” card required consuming a large amount of mana, and most magi lacked the surplus to use it.
Dark took out the first set of materials, processed them separately, and carefully categorized them.
If the first experiment failed, unused materials could be saved for the next round.
Frugality was a good habit.
At 3:22 PM.
Suddenly, a conflict arose between two materials, leading to everything falling apart.
The materials within the mana card reacted with each other, producing a large amount of dark green foam that “gurgled” and exploded with a “bang!”
The explosion wasn’t strong, but Dark remained calm.
A dragon maiden in white armor timely blocked in front of him, using her ultimate skill “Light Seal Shield” to contain the green sludge.
Dark turned and asked, “Senior, what caused this problem?”
Pandora waved her mana card to retrieve the dragon maiden, then said, “Most likely, the materials themselves were the issue. The growth, harvesting, processing, and storage of materials involve many factors. Undetectable elements often lead to experimental failures, which is normal.”
Dark nodded and started cleaning up the remnants.
Since it wasn’t his fault, he could proceed with the second experiment.
Only the 1500 credits worth of materials were wasted, which saddened him!
At 4:42 PM.
The second experiment… also failed!
The reason was a mistake in operation; the mana vibration was too fast, causing a mutation reaction before the materials could stabilize.
Dark self-reflected for five minutes, then took a deep breath and started the third experiment.
Failure wasn’t scary; what was scary was not finding the cause.
The third experiment.
Fortune finally favored the demon god.
The entire process went smoothly.
Dark carefully picked up the formed mana card from the black slime using tweezers and rinsed it under the faucet.
A mana card emitting a faint glow gradually appeared in the air.
“Success!” Dark exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the card.
The card’s image matched the twin fish pattern recorded in history!
…
[Card Name: Fusion]
[Type: Magic Card]
[Effect: Fusion]
…
[Bliss +1]
Dark held back his laughter.
The “fusion” refinement was significant for him, instantly elevating his potential to a level previously unattainable.
If he had the “fusion” card back in the secret passage when facing the vampire, he might not have struggled so much.
Of course, this was assuming the “fusion” worked as he expected, enabling the fusion evolution of Deoxys and Black Diarumon!
If Pandora Senior weren’t still around, he would have rushed back to the dormitory to try it out.
“Senior,” Dark turned and said.
Pandora extended her slender, fair fingers and smiled lightly, “May I see it?”
Dark solemnly handed the “fusion” mana card to her.
Their fingertips touched briefly, sending a chill through him.
Pandora took the “fusion” mana card and examined it closely, “Indeed, the pattern on the card is slightly different from mine.”
Dark asked, “Is this due to the difference in spells?”
Pandora nodded, “Mostly because of this. The higher the grade of the mana card, the deeper the personal imprint. Even without a mental lock, there’s no risk of theft.”
She injected a little mana, but the “fusion” card showed no reaction.
Pandora continued, “This ‘fusion’ appears to have succeeded, but its effectiveness can’t be determined yet. You can test it first and let me know the result tomorrow afternoon. Yes, I’ll still be the librarian.”
Dark retrieved the “fusion” card and sincerely thanked her, “Thank you, Senior!”
…
After tidying up the lab, Dark quickly bid farewell to his senior.
He knew she was deliberately saying this to encourage him to return to the experiment rather than holding back to treat him to dinner.
As for gratitude…
Isn’t there tomorrow?
…
At this point, Dark didn’t have the heart to think deeply.
The success of an experiment was always exhilarating, especially refining a high-level card like “fusion.”
In theory, without Pandora Senior’s help, he might not have succeeded until third or fourth year.
Of course, his own talent and effort were indispensable!
Ordinary people couldn’t learn the mana language on their own.
