Chapter 385 Puppets and Daughter

The three of them hovered in the air for a long time, and after dawn broke, they returned to their rooms. “Xueye, how is your experiment going?” asked Mage Roman, seeing that Shaoke was about to return to the laboratory for more experiments. The White-robed Cleric listened quietly to their conversation.

Shaoke took off his cloak, straightened Roman’s disheveled long hair, and said, “It’s almost done. I’ll bring the results for you to see when it’s ready.” Then he turned and left the room to continue his experiments.

In the underground laboratory, only twenty-one statues now stood. Elemental water as thick as a finger was continuously infused into the stone figures by spells. These statues, over four meters tall, were densely covered with magical scripts. Following the method he had acquired, Shaoke kept forming hand seals. Complex magical array structures materialized in the air, gradually merging into the statues under the mage’s control.

As time passed, the statues began to move, emitting a crimson glow from their eyes. They then started colliding with each other in a purely mechanical manner. Regardless of their original professions as warriors or otherwise, they now simply battered against their kind. Shaoke watched quietly until one statue was shattered. He cast a spell to stop the rest, then took the broken statue’s powder and applied it to the surviving statues. When only one statue remained, the experiment was only half done. Of course, the statue’s attacks were not so simple, but that was due to Shaoke’s control and incomplete construction.

After checking the statues again, the mage returned to his room. Following an hour of meditation, he began crafting his materials. He urgently needed a new spellbook to record his spells, as the current one’s power was far too weak.

When fewer than ten statues remained, Shaoke finally finished crafting his new spellbook. Now, he had to merge the old spellbook with this new one. The new spellbook looked quite unusual, shaped like a Blue Rhombus Flower, as suggested by the female spellcasters. Shaoke had no objections—as long as it could store spell records, its appearance didn’t matter.

Touching the color-drained old spellbook, Shaoke recalled past memories. It had been decades since he last indulged in such reminiscence. After some time, he snapped out of it, stroked the butterfly on the old spellbook affectionately, and began the fusion ritual.

A complex merging array was carved onto a crystal slab. With the chanting of incantations, both spellbooks began to rotate slowly. The mage’s incantations continued uninterrupted for a full magic hour. As time passed, a black glow emerged from the old spellbook, appearing like flames. This glow flowed into the Blue Rhombus Flower–shaped new spellbook, which turned black as well.

The two spellbooks were connected by these black threads, spinning faster. Sheets of paper bearing recorded spells flew out from the old book and slowly merged into the new one. Finally, only the old book’s cover remained. Shaoke sighed and quickened his incantation. The old spellbook completely dissolved into the air, merging into the Blue Rhombus Flower. Then the entire structure burst into black flames.

The mage quickly produced a large quantity of magical materials and threw them onto the burning flower. As materials were added, the Blue Rhombus Flower spellbook slowly grew and then shrank multiple times before Shaoke finished adding the materials. When no more materials remained, the incantation ended. The Blue Rhombus Flower slowed its rotation, and the surrounding black flames began to retract. Shaoke knew that once the black light fully entered the new spellbook, it would be complete. Then, the minor features attached to the book could be activated one by one.

Just as everything was about to finish, the crown on his brow suddenly emitted a flash of black light. The black radiance on the Blue Rhombus Flower expanded further. Then the crown’s light rapidly merged into the whole flower. Before long, the black glow vanished.

A pitch-black blue flower fell into the mage’s hand. Although Shaoke was puzzled by the final event, after several inspections, he found nothing amiss. Deciding to let it go, he instead examined the newly completed spellbook.

The petals were covered densely with tiny writing and magical array structures. If an ordinary person stared for too long, they would get dizzy or go blind; in severe cases, it could even cause death. Of course, when copying new spells, the petals would expand, preventing unnecessary harm to the spellcaster. After checking its features, Shaoke put it away into his meditation space. The spellbook landed on the massive altar, where it was enveloped by Arcane Fire.

Shaoke didn't find the new spellbook's features very useful, since they were very similar to those of the black crown. However, the effect of reducing consumption did not stack. It also included minor functions that allowed faster casting when using Arcane Secret, but mages rarely used such functions, as each use signified imminent danger.

After finishing the spellbook, Shaoke left the room. Outside, the White-robed Cleric was waiting for him. “Xueye, you should take some time to check on the young children. They will contribute to the family in the future.” The cleric took his arm and led him toward the children's area, as the mage had no urgent business.

Shaoke silently followed her. The young learners’ facility was a seven-story mage tower. The first floor was for gatherings and rest, the second a tavern, and above were the library and other amenities. The children here received the best education provided by Shaoke and his group.

“The children in this room are interested in government affairs. Many future family affairs will rely on their assistance,” the White-robed Cleric introduced room by room. Each room had only a few students, but Shaoke found them all diligent, far more so than he was at their age.

“Would you like to teach them arcane knowledge?” the cleric asked, believing the mage would accept. Of course, a ninth-rank mage might not teach as well as a lower-ranked one, but his wealth of knowledge was still valuable for the young.

Shaoke shook his head. “We’ll talk about that later.” Then he added, “The imperial capital has established a large academy, hasn’t it? If possible, let these students attend it for a few years when they reach a certain age. They can make friends there.” He then turned to leave.

“I want them to spend more time together to build rapport,” the cleric replied softly. “Recently, the imperial capital sent us some infants. I want to have Moxier’s child grow up with them, as that will benefit him later.” She sighed. If the family weren’t newly established, she would never let Moxier’s child mix with those ordinary children—it would make him lose authority in the future.

“You should discuss this with Moxier. If it’s not important, don’t bother me with it,” Shaoke said, stopping in front of the library. He stood silently.

The cleric gave him a helpless look and said quietly, “You should care more about family affairs. Otherwise, when you leave and return, no one will remember you.” She couldn’t help but laugh. In the end, she took the mage’s arm and obediently left with him.

After standing outside with the cleric for a while, she left early due to work commitments. Shaoke visited Lan Wei’er briefly before returning to his room for his studies. This time, he didn’t focus on books but instead absorbed memories from the Divine Avatars he had hunted years ago. Many memories had been temporarily stored in his spellbook. Even after all this time, he had only absorbed a small portion. As his mental strength grew, the absorption accelerated.

Complex, milky white light particles emerged from the Blue Rhombus Flower. Shaoke absorbed only a tiny amount at a time, then digested it slowly. Each absorption brought great benefits, as the gods had lived far longer than him and possessed far more complex and voluminous knowledge. Often, he encountered spells he had never seen before. He recorded them meticulously, preserving them for his own use and as part of the family’s heritage.