Chapter 748 Light as a Feather, Heavy as a Mountain 4k
Dark certainly could not voice his concerns in front of Professor Shylph.
He naturally steered the conversation back to the topic of the “Intelligence Deity,” asking curiously, “Professor, since the body and soul of the ‘Intelligence Deity’ have been revived, can we read her true identity from them?”
“Technically, it’s possible, but there are some practical difficulties,” Professor Kazel slowly replied. “As we’ve mentioned before, our understanding of deities is very superficial and lacks systematic knowledge. Even if we sift through all the literature in the library, the information we could gather about deities would still be minimal. We don’t even know how many deities have existed in this world, let alone those with well-known names, which are usually only the ones with particularly unique stories or extremely high status.”
Dark frowned and said, “But she is the ‘Intelligence Deity,’ isn’t she?”
Professor Kazel responded, “The intelligence of the ‘Intelligence Deity’ is a general description of her power. It encompasses a wide variety of types. For example, the ‘Intelligence Deity’ could have the power to increase the intelligence of golden monkeys, or the power to enhance the intelligence of all humans. Therefore, the deity pointed to by such descriptions would clearly be two deities with entirely different ranks. However…”
He shifted his tone and continued, “Our ‘Intelligence Deity’ is clearly of high rank.”
A deity capable of restoring the memories and awakening the self-awareness of dungeon monsters would certainly not be a low-ranking deity!
Otherwise, the academy wouldn’t have invested so much resources in her.
Currently, the descriptions of deities’ ranks in the available literature are very vague and disorganized, lacking any systematic categorization. Thus, it’s impossible to simply differentiate their strength.
Even deities described as having great power in legends might be exaggerated accounts.
Regarding the ‘Intelligence Deity,’ the higher-ranked deities that can be confirmed include Athena, the ‘War and Wisdom Deity’ among the twelve gods on the ‘Mountain of Gods’; Thoth, the ‘Moon and Wisdom Deity’ among the main gods of Helios; Prometheus, the ‘Fire and Wisdom Deity’ among the Titans… and so on.
Among these many deities, the most famous ‘Intelligence Deity’ walking among humans as a maiden is undoubtedly Athena, the ‘War and Wisdom Deity.’
Indeed, when the body of this ‘Intelligence Deity’ regenerated completely, the professors mostly thought of the most famous virgin goddess.
However, Athena’s rank was too high, making this idea fleeting.
No one believed they could control one of the twelve gods.
Even Professor Kazel felt the same way.
…
“Now that the ritual is complete, let’s restore the secret path to its original state,” Professor Shylph glanced around and said.
The professors nodded and began cleaning up.
The bronze grand hall under their feet had withstood a lightning strike, though it appeared severely damaged, its internal energy was condensed. If extracted, it would undoubtedly become excellent material for steel and electricity attributes.
Although the bronze fire pits played a significant role in this consciousness, they hadn’t suffered much damage and could be reused.
Saint Maryann Academy, despite its wealth, couldn’t afford to be wasteful. They needed to save where necessary.
Once the professors dispersed, only Dark, Professor Kazel, and Olivia remained atop the bronze grand hall.
After careful observation, Professor Kazel waved his wand to draw a magic circle and then lightly touched it with the tip, channeling the transformed mana into the body of the ‘Intelligence Deity.’
Stimulated, the ‘Intelligence Deity’ gradually shrunk until she became human-sized.
Some things that were easily overlooked due to her large size suddenly came into focus.
“Cough!”
Dark cleared his throat and took out a ‘Magical Beast: Ditto’ card from his deck, summoning it to wrap around the ‘Intelligence Deity’ and transforming it into a white dress covering her body.
Professor Kazel paid no attention to these details.
After shrinking the ‘Intelligence Deity,’ he rested his chin on his hand and fell into deep thought.
Dark stood aside, observing the ‘Intelligence Deity’ silently.
About half an hour later, the professors gathered all the remaining ritual items in the secret path and returned to the bronze grand hall.
Professor Kazel then said, “Since everyone is here, let’s try the ‘Seven Soul Lock Deity Spell.'”
Dark asked, “What is the ‘Seven Soul Lock Deity Spell’?”
Professor Kazel explained, “It’s a seal spell cast by seven people together. The seal has already been planted within the ‘Intelligence Deity’ during the ritual. Focus your attention; I’ll transmit the incantation to you.”
Dark’s heart stirred, and he quickly concentrated, listening intently to the incantation.
After a few minutes, he finally memorized the incantation and nodded to Professor Kazel.
Professor Kazel then said, “The ‘Seven Soul Lock Deity Spell’ is an ancient spell created by wizards to seal deities, but its power isn’t as formidable as legend suggests. It has many restrictions and requires extremely strict conditions for casting. Ultimately, it can only seal lower-ranking deities. However, when we revived her, we embedded the seal within her body, making it part of her. This maximizes the effectiveness of the ‘Seven Soul Lock Deity Spell.’ However, whether it can truly seal her… I can’t be certain.”
After all, there was no deity to experiment on, which was unavoidable.
The ‘Seven Soul Lock Deity Spell’ consists of seven parts. Casting it individually still has some control effect, and the more people casting together, the stronger the effect.
“Let’s begin!”
With Professor Kazel’s command, the seven casters scattered and chanted the incantation simultaneously.
Dark carefully sensed the stirring of his bloodline and mana as the incantation resonated with a mysterious feeling.
Holding his sword, he suddenly stabbed forward, and a massive surge of mana flowed from his fingertips into the ‘Intelligence Deity’s’ body.
Instantly, the mana line turned into golden chains, like flames burning fiercely.
Seven chains locked onto the ‘Intelligence Deity’s’ wrists, ankles, forehead, neck, and waist.
As the seven chains formed, smaller chains sprouted from the locks, entwining around the ‘Intelligence Deity’s’ body, binding her tightly.
“It’s done.”
Professor Kazel tested the strength of the ‘Seven Soul Lock Deity Spell.’
After several clinking sounds, he seemed satisfied and signaled the others to release the spell.
“The strength is adequate. Let’s hope it won’t be needed.”
“Next, let’s give her a name.”
…
“Why give her a name? When Professor Kazel figures out her identity, won’t she have a name?” Professor Lily asked curiously. Professor Shylph looked at her like a mother and said, “First, we need a code name for her before we figure out her identity. We can’t keep calling her the ‘Intelligence Deity.’ Second, even after we figure out her identity, we need a pseudonym for cover. The real name would make it easier for others to uncover her background. Unless absolutely necessary, we shouldn’t let anyone unrelated know about her existence.”
Professor Lily nodded vigorously, “We’ll keep it hidden. I understand!”
Dark had a sudden realization.
Saint Maryann Academy chose a dual-track approach in studying deities.
The team led by Principal Altair was openly investigating on the ‘Mountain of Gods’ Polobos.
The team led by Vice Principal Shylph was covert, serving as a trump card for critical moments.
The open track is difficult to keep confidential.
The covert track is easier to conceal.
Which track is more important remains undecided, but currently, the progress of the covert track is far ahead of the open track.
“Aquaria, what do you think?” Dark suggested a name.
Professor Lily asked curiously, “What is Aquaria?”
Dark: “A name for a feast deity.”
Professor Shylph looked at him and then at the ‘Intelligence Deity,’ shaking her head. “This name seems a bit hasty. Isn’t there a better one?”
“Then…” Dark thought carefully and said, “Eralganie?”
Professor Shylph pondered, “What does Eralganie mean?”
Dark said, “Worker. Hoping that the ‘Intelligence Deity’ will become a diligent worker once she gains consciousness.”
It seemed that the Athena of this world didn’t have the endearing nickname ‘Eralganie.’
…
For the next ten minutes, the professors enthusiastically suggested various quirky names, fully displaying their struggle with naming. In the end, Professor Metia decided, choosing ‘Eralganie’ over ‘Aquaria.’
After all, being a worker is honorable, while being a fool is foolish.
…
Finally settling on a name, Professor Kazel wiped his sweat and said, “Eralganie it is. During your absence, I’ll attempt to etch a circuit for simulated thinking inside her. That’s enough for today.”
“Shouldn’t we celebrate?” Professor Lily blinked and asked.
Professor Kazel smiled, “No celebration, time is tight.”
“Indeed.” Professor Shylph turned and said, “Rest tomorrow, leave early the day after. Got it?”
“Got it~” Various voices echoed.
The group, having achieved a monumental feat in centuries, dispersed casually.
Without celebration or announcement, it felt as simple as eating or drinking.
But the window was opened, the shackles loosened, and the wheels of history were rolling down.
Dark intended to say something to Olivia, but before he could speak, Lily grabbed his wrist, causing him to lose balance.
When his vision returned, he found himself standing at the entrance of the Tower of Noble Academy.
Feeling he had done a great deed, Lily released him with a smile, saying, “Merry Christmas, where’s my gift?”
“Tomorrow…” Dark replied quietly.
“Alright!” Lily spun in the air and vanished like a fairy.
Oh, she was always a fairy.
Dark sighed deeply, worriedly crossing the bridge, only to be stopped by a Feathered Serpent golem outside the door.
It was past curfew!
…
Perhaps because he was almost a professor or perhaps because they didn’t want him to spend Christmas night alone, the Feathered Serpent golem finally allowed him into the tower.
He returned to his room, immediately collapsing onto the bed. After a few minutes, he slowly stood up, watched by the mischievous golem, and took out the Christmas gift from Senior Pandora.
“I wonder if Senior Pandora has opened it.”
He thought, slowly untied the ribbon on the gift box, revealing a beautifully carved square box.
The box had a metal clasp, but it wasn’t locked.
He opened the clasp, lifted the lid, and was stunned.
Inside the box was a magical card for the Christmas gift!
“What could it be?”
The higher the grade of the magical card, the more personalized it becomes.
Given Senior Pandora’s skill level, she could certainly craft a high-grade semi-finished magical card.
So, it was possible that this was a high-grade magical card.
But as soon as he touched it, he knew he was wrong.
The magical card’s mana fluctuation wasn’t strong; it should be a universal type.
Just like the magical card he gave Senior Pandora.
Young boys and girls seemed to have chosen the same type of gift unconsciously.
A strange joy suddenly welled up in Dark’s heart.
He wondered if Senior Pandora would feel the same when she saw his gift.
He took out the magical card, injecting mana into it.
As the mana flowed in, the black veil covering the card’s surface like water receded, revealing the true image.
Dark softly spoke the incantation for a regular summoning spell, and the two tiny figures in the card slowly materialized in the smoky summoning circle. A melodious tune gently played, and the figures dressed in splendid costumes danced gracefully in the air, like fairies.
“So it’s an ‘Eight-Note Box.'”
Dark’s gaze focused, watching the dancing figures intently.
These two figures had distinct features: one with blonde hair and blue eyes, the other with black hair and red eyes.
He watched the stage background change around the figures, unable to suppress a smile.
At this moment, he felt that there could be no better gift.
…
In the Mana Academy’s tower.
Despite it being past two in the morning, Pandora Dragon hadn’t gone to sleep yet.
She wore her pajamas, sitting in her blankets, repeatedly activating the Christmas gift from her cute junior, a broad smile lighting up the darkness.
It was also a universal magical card.
When activated, music would play.
The blonde-haired, blue-eyed figure and the black-haired, red-eyed figure sat on a swing, with a large ruby ring floating above them, casting a gentle red light on their faces, reddening their cheeks with shyness.
The swing gently swayed, and the young boy and girl gradually leaned closer, then…
The boy subtly turned his head, kissing the girl’s face.
“Even bolder would be better…”
The echo lingered.
